A Rose and A Sparrow
by DX1998
Summary: We all know the story of Fable II...Sparrow loses her sister that horrible night in Castle Fairfax. But what if...what if the Banshee hadn't been lying and Rose had survived the gunshot, but instead of dying afterword, she had been saved? Lucien has no idea what he has unleashed, with two descendants of the Hero of Oakvale out for his blood...
1. A Tale of Two Sisters

**AN: Well, my first Fable fic. I'm writing this, mostly due to replaying Fable II...something I tend to avoid because the game depresses the heck out of me :(**

**Namely, I have difficulties getting past the Rose death...no problems with Scarlet Robe in the first one, or with Elliot/Elise in the Third...probably because of the gut punch of it being:**

**A. Your only family**

**B. You're both _little kids_**

**It doesn't help that you have that 'Perfect Day' bit later on. Thus, plot bunnies have been driving me up the wall to write a 'Rose lives!' fic. This one to be specific. It's as much an experiment as anything else...with the amount of time that my SG/Halo fic is taking up, I would need some real interest to continue it past the intro. So let's see how this goes!**

* * *

_In a darkened room, backlit by a magnificent stained-glass window, a circle of light grew from the floor. The blue light surrounded two young girls, dressed in rags and looking terrified at the circle. The older one couldn't be older than twelve or thirteen, while the younger probably hadn't even hit ten yet. Pacing outside the circle was a much older man, something of an insane glint in his eyes as he muttered under his breath, before putting a finger on the blue light. The light turned red...seemingly protecting the children, if the man's hiss of pain was any indication._

_"M'lord, what's happening?!" the older girl, a child named Rose, asked fearfully._

_"What are you?!" the man shouted, ignoring Rose as he moved to a table and began frantically flipping through a book, "There was something here..."_

_Rose and her sister began to panic even more at the difference in the man's actions. He had been friendly up to this point...but now he acted positively crazed, like something had snapped in him. The man continued to mutter under his breath, saying something about three Heroes...and one of the girls being the fourth? But they were just orphans...not Heroes! The man seemed to disagree, pulling an ornate pistol from his desk, turning back to the girls._

_"Lord Lucien, what's wrong?!" Rose shouted again._

_Lucien frowned, seemingly pained as he cocked the pistol, "I'm sorry. This isn't what I wanted, but I can't have anything stand in my way."_

_Before either sister could react, a bullet was lodged in Rose's stomach, sending her to the floor. The younger sister screamed and grabbed her sister, trying to get her to move. Tears were running down her face...and even Lucien's eyes looked wet. A cocking sound announced the pistol being reloaded, making the younger sister get back to her feet and fearfully back away from the man, staring at him wide-eyed._

_Lucien sighed, "I'm sorry."_

_Another bullet slammed into the small child, sending her flying through the stained-glass window, far down to the streets below. The older sister watched as this happened...before the pain finally knocked her out. Lucien dropped his pistol from shaking hands, before gathering his materials and fleeing his castle, not looking back once. A lone guard, having heard the gun-shots and seen Lucien fleeing, rushed to the room._

_"Oh no...no no no..." the man muttered, finding the shattered window and a barely alive Rose on the circle. The man carefully picked the injured girl up, filing her mutters of 'Sparrow' in the back of his mind as he carried her to the guard barracks...the medic there would have to heal her._

* * *

**Years Later  
**

* * *

_That dream again..._

Rose, Guard of Old Bowerstone, sighed as she touched a scar on her stomach...the spot where Lucien had shot and nearly killed her. She still felt phantom pain to this day, though it paled in comparison to the constant pain in her heart. She was the older sister...but she had failed to protect her little Sparrow. The image of the small girl being flung out the window of Castle Fairfax was something Rose saw every night...for the last ten years. She knew that if it hadn't have been for Derek the guard she herself would have been dead too...though there was part of Rose that wouldn't have complained if she had been left to die...at least then she wouldn't be going on with life on her own.

On the other hand, as the woman swung out of her bed and grabbed her augmented Longsword, by surviving she had a chance of paying Lucien back. Rose wasn't the vindictive type...she may have hated Arfur, the creep, but she wouldn't have ever deliberately hurt the man. Lucien though...the very thought of him made Rose's grip on her sword go white.

"I'll never forgive him..._never_," she growled under her breath, before a sad look came over her face as she looked up to the roof, "enough of that. Happy birthday Sparrow. I'm sorry."

Rose had long-since marked down her beloved sister's birthday. She celebrated each and every year, in memory of a life cut short. Derek, by now the Guard Captain of Bowerstone, allowed her this day off. The man had become something of a surrogate uncle for Rose ever since saving her from Castle Fairfax, and seemed to understand what she went through every year on this day. Something she was forever thankful for, as she left the barracks and blinked away the spring sun.

Bowerstone Old Town had changed tremendously since Rose's childhood. Thanks to breaking up the gang by finding those warrants (Rose ignored a twinge of pain at thinking of that day), the Old Town had begun to clean itself up. Now? The district was possibly the best in Bowerstone, as a proud Derek never ceased to enjoy reminding people of.

Speaking of whom...

"Rose!" the old guard shouted, walking up to the younger woman.

Derek had aged well, still fully able to hold his own in a fight. His cheerful attitude hadn't changed either, though he was rather more subdued on this day, just as Rose was. The old guard had a soft spot for both of the orphans, and he was possibly the only other person hurt by Sparrows death nearly as much as Rose herself was. He seemed unusually excited about something though.

"What's up Derek?"

"Thag's dead," the older man replied.

Now that was a surprise. Rose had heard of the bandit, capturing traders along the road to Bower Lake. Said road had been closed, and was currently being guarded by Andy, one of the few guards that Rose knew from her own training days. And he was under strict orders _not_ to engage the bandits, so who could have killed Thag? Surely not a random civilian...right? Albion wasn't as harsh as it used to be, so few people knew how to use a weapon well enough to fend off regular bandits, leave alone a chief like Thag.

"Who did it?" she asked, as the pair walked along the road.

"Not sure. Andy said she, and ain't that a surprise, didn't really talk. When he asked her name all he got was Spar or something like that," Derek replied with a shrug, "Andy never was the best at paying attention. He probably misheard something."

Rose felt a pang in her heart when Derek said 'Spar' because of Sparrow. Shaking that off, she said goodbye to her old friend as he moved off to wake the rest of the days guard patrols from the barracks. Continuing to walk along the street, Rose headed for a specific destination. While not as prolific a market as the Town Square, Old Town did have some shops. One of those was open with a man sweeping outside it.

"Hey Rose!" the man waved as the young woman walked up to him.

"Hey James," Rose replied, smiling slightly at the cheerful man.

The young man was one of her better friends, constantly offering her a discount on his stock. Rose would have declined, but she instead took advantage of the discount to buy more food for the poor orphan children who still wandered through Bowerstone. If James knew she did this, he didn't say anything about it. Most people in the Old District knew her story by now, and while Rose didn't really want their pity, she knew that it was largely that reason that she was allowed to feed the orphans the way she did.

_I won't let anyone else suffer like I did_.

Shaking those thoughts from her head, Rose walked into the young man's shop, James already going into the backroom. He knew why the young guard was here, considering the date. The average Albion citizen didn't pay much attention to the calendar other than to mark crop seasons or sales down, but since when was Rose ever the 'average' citizen? Wandering around the shop, the young woman fingered a piece of cloth tied to her sword. An old brown stain marred the pink cloth...the only thing she had left of Sparrow, something that Derek had found hanging from the broken window when he 'investigated' Lucien's office.

"Here you are Rose," James broke into her thoughts, coming out of his storeroom with a vase of lilies.

Rose smiled, "Thank you James."

After paying the five gold (and getting another pang of sadness at that) Rose left the store. Sparrow had always loved lilies, so it had become just as much of a tradition for Rose to bring a vase of them to their old home, if one could call it that, every year on her sister's birthday. As Rose walked along the winding streets, she sighed and looked at the sky. Old Town was beautiful in spring, with all the flowers blooming. Of course, looking at the sky required looking at the imposing shape of Castle Fairfax in the distance.

"I wished we could have lived there little Sparrow," Rose said sadly, "I never wished for what happened."

That music box...Rose regretted ever buying it, or listening to that _stupid_ woman. She had never believed in magic before, and shouldn't have started just because one woman who _somehow_ knew her name said so. So what if the box _was_ magic, all it had done was get her sister killed, and her _nearly_ killed. Really, that woman was only barely under Lucien in Rose's mind...both had gotten her beloved sister killed, and she would never forgive either. But, it was pointless thinking about that.

This was supposed to be a day for happy memories. Sparrow wouldn't want her having such dark thoughts on her birthday, regardless of the reason. So Rose looked down from the castle in the distance, and turned down the side-path to her old 'home'. One of the most noticeable changes to Old Bowerstone was the flower-lined path that used to just be cobblestones and dirt. Rose had planted many of those flowers herself, making a memorial for her sister even if no one else would. But as she walked down the path, the sound of...crying...came to her.

"Who could that be?" Rose wondered, as she picked up the pace.

When she rounded the last corner, the young woman saw another woman, slightly younger than herself. The woman was dressed in lower-class clothing, patched together and obviously well-used. Her long black hair was tied back with a pink ribbon, and hanging over...a rusty longsword and old crossbow. Seeing a woman carrying weapons was odd enough. Seeing a woman carrying weapons and crying between the two bee-hives that marked where the old shanty used to be was even odder. Was this the woman who had killed Thag?

And then...Rose saw something in the woman's hands. Her old journal!

"Who are you?" Rose asked, carefully moving a hand to be ready to grab her sword if need be.

The woman flinched, and turned around slowly as she got to her feet. Slowly lifting her head up, both Rose and the woman gasped at the same time. For they had identical eyes, and extremely similar facial features. While Rose dropped her lilies, the woman put a hand over her heart and shakily spoke one simple word.

"Rose?"

* * *

**Earlier  
**

* * *

A woman looked up at Bowerstone. The town was impressive, if one had lived somewhere else their whole life. At first glance, one would think this woman had lived somewhere else, as her clothing was patched and frayed, and the weapons on her back were something usually seen out on the fringes of Albion society, certainly not in Bowerstone. Looks can be deceiving however, as this woman was familiar with Bowerstone, even if the memories were fuzzy with the long years that had gone by. She absently fingered a scar, barely hidden under an old necklace given to her by one of the Gypsies she had been staying with for the last two years.

_I never really thought I would come back here_...Sparrow thought, looking up at her former home as she walked into the city with a group of traders.

Logically she knew that coming back to Bowerstone would be needed at some point, especially if she was to fulfill the mission Theresa had given her...and her own personal vendetta against _Lord_ Lucien. That didn't mean it didn't hurt to come back to the city where her sister had died. To be fair she had never actually been in the Markets before, as Old Town was mostly cut-off from Bowerstone at large back then. And she was determined to keep it that way...not go to Old Town unless absolutely necessary.

Sparrow had even forgotten that it was her birthday...so focused she was on her mission, and not thinking of her childhood. At any rate, a strange man ran up to her and brought her back to the present rather easily.

"Hey, are you the Hero who killed Thag?!" the man shouted excitedly.

Part of Sparrow almost wanted to punch the man to keep him quiet...Lucien could still have agents in the city, and she _did not_ want her status as a Hero being spread around. On the other hand though, the man seemed harmless enough. So she'd put up with him, at least until she could meet Theresa in the market and ditch the strange man.

That being said, she would have to give him an answer or he probably wouldn't stop hovering around her asking rapid-fire questions. So turning her head slightly as she walked, Sparrow nodded at the man. She wasn't a mute by any means, but she didn't talk much anymore either. For what its worth, the man didn't seem to care that she wasn't talking.

"You don't know me yet, but I'll be a famous bard one day," the man said, striking a fairly ridiculous pose, "name's Roland y'see. Can I show you around Bowerstone for...inspiration?"

Now Sparrow had to hold back giggles at the man's enthusiasm. Kind of reminded her of that man with the picture thi...no, _do not_ think about that day. Shaking her head slightly, Sparrow listened to the man go on about Bowerstone Bridge, leading her to file him away as 'Bard Obvious' mentally. He wasn't very good at singing either. When she reached the town square, the ramblings of Bard Obvious were cut out by the sight of Theresa standing by the center of the square. Oddly, people seemed to ignore her, with only Sparrow noticing the red-clad woman.

Waving Roland off, Sparrow walked up to her mentor. The blind seer turned her head slightly and nodded at Sparrow. The two women walked out of the market, towards a small shop in the distance, with a view out to sea. When the pair reached their destination, they stood next to the wall at the end, looking out at a structure...large enough to be seen even from this large of a distance.

"Look little Sparrow, and see where Lucien has gone," Theresa stated, pointing at the structure, "that is the Tattered Spire. A structure originally built by the last Archon of the Old Kingdom. It serves as a focal point for all the Will power of the world...such power is able to grant any wish its master may desire. However, that power was the end of the Old Kingdom...some say that was even the Archon's wish, to wipe away a corrupt world and replace it with a new, pure, world. That is the power Lucien is attempting to restore."

"Is that why he tried to kill me?" Sparrow asked softly.

Theresa nodded, "Indeed. There is a prophecy...three Heroes are needed to power the Spire, as it runs on the very lifeblood of a Hero...Will energy. There, however, is also supposed to be a fourth, who would stop Lucien's plans. Whatever he found in the tower that night convinced him you or your sister are that hero...and that is why he tried to kill you."

Sparrow unconscionably clenched her fist, a bit of fire gathering around it. What kind of man tried to kill two _children_ just because they _may_ be a future threat? She may have pitied Lucien, much as Rose (the fire went out as grief overtook anger) had...but that pity was long gone. The man may have lost his wife and child, but that gave him _no_ right to do...whatever he was planning on doing with the Spire. For her part, Theresa smiled grimly under her hood. Sparrow had the determination she would need to survive her coming tasks.

Both women turned to the other once more, leaving the Spire in their thoughts. Theresa looked down on Sparrow, blind eyes examining the _much_ younger woman, somehow. Sparrow still had yet to figure out exactly how her mentor could see and read her despite the blindness, but had given up questioning it years ago. Turning away from Theresa's face, she felt something pressed into her hand. Looking down, Sparrow saw a deck of cards, the type a psychic would be expected to read the future on.

"The cards have shown my your future, little Sparrow," the old woman said softly, "there are three other Heroes you must find, before Lucien can use their power to fuel the Spire. A Hero of Strength, a Hero of Will, and a Hero of Skill. You will find the first in Oakfield, far from Bowerstone. I am sorry, but you will have to go through the Old Town to reach the Bower Road to Oakfield."

Sparrow grimaced, but nodded nonetheless, "I don't like it, but I will."

"Good. Now, I must say goodbye for now Hero. I will contact you on the Guild Seal if I find anything new," with that said, Theresa walked off back towards the market, leaving Sparrow alone to look out at the Spire and Fairfax Castle.

Clenching her fist once again, Sparrow let out a sigh and turned away from the ocean view to head to her old home. She certainly didn't want to go back to the Old Town, or enjoy the idea of doing so. But by the same token, she didn't have much real choice in the matter either. If this was the only path she could take to continue her quest...well, she would take it. If nothing else, she might find something Rose had left behind at their old shack...maybe.

Walking into Old Town, Sparrow was somewhat surprised at the state of the area. She remembered it as being run-down, the laughing stock of Bowerstone. That was nothing like the Old Town she remembered...it was beautiful. Flowers lined every street, and the houses were arguably in better shape than the ones in the market had been. Did finding those warrants (_do not think about that day Sparrow!_) really help _that_ much? It didn't seem possible, but that was the only real explanation.

Oddly though, while people had given her curious looks back in the market, the looks in Old Town seemed more...confused? Maybe people were recognizing her, even if she didn't recognize any of them. Electing to ignore the looks, Sparrow walked down that familiar paths towards the end of the district. The drop-off was the same as ever, as she looked out at the hated shape of Castle Fairfax. What wasn't the same was what she saw as the young Hero walked down the side-path towards her old home. The area had been fenced off, and...flowers planted along the path?

_Why would someone care for this place_?

Curious now, Sparrow walked along the familiar path, and saw a pair of large beehives had replaced the old shelter. She hadn't really expected any remnants to still be there, but it still hurt somewhat seeing nothing left of the place she and her sister had called home. Walking up to the hives, Sparrow got on her knees and...prayed. She wasn't sure what she was praying to, but was certain she didn't care. If Rose were anywhere, she would hopefully hear Sparrow begging for her forgiveness...especially for not visiting their old home for so long.

However, as she was looking at the ground, Sparrow saw something unnatural in the dirt. Reaching down, she retrieved a...book? The old tome was covered in dirt and yellowing slightly, but still legible. And when the young woman opened it, she almost dropped it as tears began to spill from her eyes. Written on the front page was 'Rose's Diary'. This was her sister's...and it had been sitting here for ten years?

Wiping the tears away, Sparrow opened the diary to the last page that had any writing on it. The yellowed page had a crude drawing of Castle Fairfax on it, with Rose's surprisingly neat writing under it.

_I managed to find a nice piece of charcoal this morning, so I can finally start writing again. I still haven't finished putting down the story about the warrior girl who fights snow monsters. Sparrow always likes listening to that one-sends her right to sleep! It's not so easy for me. Winter is getting colder, and soon our shelter won't be anywhere near enough. We'll freeze to death if we don't find something better. _

_And the family of travelers who let us stay in their caravan last winter haven't come back this year. It was nice having someone to look after us for a change. If only we could find some secret passage into the castle...we're small enough that no one would notice us. We'd be like ghosts, or like mice hiding in the walls. We'd tip-toe out when everyone goes to bed and raid the larder. I bet they have so much food in there, they'd never even notice. Bah, day-dreaming isn't going to get us anywhere. You have to think of something, Rose. You're the big sister, remember?_

Sparrow barely held onto the diary as she shut it...sobs wracked her body, as she let out ten years of bottled up grief. Rose had tried _so hard_ to keep them both alive and healthy...and all it had done was get her killed. And now all that was left of her beloved sister was this old book, that Sparrow clutched to her chest as she cried. As tears flowed from her eyes and sobs from her lungs, Sparrow heard the sound of someone walking up behind her.

"Who are you?" a woman's voice asked.

_It can't be... _

Sparrow would recognize that voice anywhere. It was older and far more suspicious than she had ever heard before...but...

Getting to her feet shakily, Sparrow slowly turned around, not believing her ears, and thinking she was surely hallucinating in her grief. Raising her head from the ground...Sparrow saw a sight she never thought she would ever see. Standing in front of her was a slightly older woman, dressed in a female version of a guards uniform, with a stained piece of pink cloth tied around her longsword's hilt, flapping in the wind. That wasn't what got the Hero's attention though...this woman had the _same eyes_. And her face...it was older, but Sparrow would _never_ forget that face.

"Rose?"

"Sparrow?"

The moment the shock wore off, both women wore identical looks of _pure anger_ on their faces, as they dropped everything from their hands and pulled out their swords. Sparrow was cursing herself for not buying a new weapon in the market...her rusty excuse for a sword looking quite pitiful next to the imposters augmented Longsword.

For her part, Rose was glaring at the woman who dared to look so much like her sister. Sparrow was _dead_, so this had to be a trick by Lucien. But even so, there was a traitorous part of her that whispered _why would an imposter be __so sad_?

"Who are you?!" both women shouted at the other.

The similarity in voices did little to dissuade either from the fact they were convinced the other was someone sent by Lucien specifically to get them to let their respective guards down. Both women were equally convinced their sister had died that horrible night. Rose because there was _no way_ that Sparrow could have survived that fall. Sparrow because Theresa had made no mention of Rose being alive.

"Lucien sent you, didn't he?" Sparrow asked, flames starting to surround her hands again.

Rose didn't know what to make of the fire, but replied bitterly, "I was going to ask you the same thing. My sister is dead, so drop the act!"

And now Sparrow's inner voice was asking the very same question that Rose's had been. Why would an imposter sound so...pained? The grief in this Rose look-alike's voice was so similar to her own...but it couldn't be her. Why would Theresa have a reason to lie to her? Her mentor had always said Rose died that night...and with everything else she knew, surely she couldn't have missed something like this...could she?

Rose was still conflicted herself. While her little Sparrow had been so young when she died, this woman could easily pass for what she believed her beloved sister would have looked like at that age. Not to mention that had been real grief she had heard. And that fire around her hands...after what had happened that night, Rose had looked far and wide for any books on Heroes, to find out what Lucien had been so scared of to want to kill her and her sister. One of the common things she had found was that a Hero had something called 'Will' powers. The most common by far were lightning...and Inferno.

Surely Lucien wouldn't let a Hero work with him. And surely a Hero _wouldn't_ work with the man, who killed a little girl just because she might one-day become a Hero. If, as the traitorous voice continued to whisper, he had indeed killed Sparrow.

"What day is it?" the Guard asked, hoping against hope that this woman could answer the question.

Sparrow was confused by that question, and wracked her brain for an answer. And the answer hit her like a Balverine over the head...it was her birthday. And only now, did the young Hero notice the discarded vase of lilies at the other woman's feet...and the empty vase next to the beehives.

"My birthday," the Hero whispered, not able to believe what she seemed to be seeing. No one but Rose knew it was her birthday. No one but Rose knew of her fondness for lilies. No one but Rose...would visit a place like this, "is it really you Rose?"

For her part, Rose felt her grip on her sword vanish, as she dropped the blade from suddenly shaking hands. Only Derek knew that today was Sparrow's birthday...not even James knew, he just knew that Rose always bought the lilies today. There was no way that Lucien could know...that could only mean that...

"Yes, little Sparrow," Rose replied, her voice breaking as tears came to her eyes.

The next thing either woman knew, they were in each other's arms, crying into the other's shoulder. The two sisters were reunited after ten years...and nothing would tear them apart again.

* * *

**AN: Well, what do you think? Like I said, an experiment really...I'll need at least some interest, or I can't justify spending the time continuing it (unless my plot-bunnies from playing the game in question don't leave me alone). So please, review and let me know what you think! ;) **

**On a different note, I'm not sure of what pairings I could do. I know I won't pair either sister with Reaver (I expect at least someone to ask that considering his popularity. Personally, I've never liked the man, but that's just me).  
**

**I hope everyone enjoyed this little foray into Fable-verse and supports the story being continued! :D**


	2. Reunited

**AN: As it turns out, this story is very fun to write. So I'll continue it, as I've already got three spare chapters (counting this one) put together. I would like to see a bit more interest, but I do know how small the Fable archive is. In any case, I hope my readers enjoy this chapter!  
**

* * *

If one were walking the side-streets of Bowerstone Old Town, they would have heard the sound of two women crying. This wouldn't have been out of place in the seedier districts of the town, however much some citizens would dispute the point. It was that simple fact that kept anyone from disturbing the sisters, as they let out ten years of shared grief. Tears and sobs came and went, until both collapsed to the ground, emotionally and physically spent. The two women didn't say anything at first...content to just hold each other, still not believing that they were both alive. One of them would have to break the silence eventually though.

"Rose...I'm so sorry," Sparrow said, tightening her grip on her sister.

"No, I should be the one who's sorry," Rose disagreed, managing to shake her head slightly, "I couldn't protect you."

Sparrow could already tell that was going to be something they would probably always disagree on. Then again...she didn't care. At least she _had_ Rose to disagree with. The young hero had truly thought she would never see her sister again...not after that night. Still though...the two sisters moved to lean against a wall, arms around each other. Sparrow sighed, and leaned her head on Rose's shoulder. She may have been a Hero now, but that didn't mean she couldn't take comfort in being held by her older sister anymore.

In all honesty, both of them would have been perfectly content to just sit there, taking comfort in just _being with each other_ after ten long years of thinking the other had died. But by the same token, many questions needed to be asked.

"How did you survive little Sparrow?" Rose asked, already settling back into the pet name she had for her sister.

Sparrow had a cute frown on her face at the 'little' bit, but didn't say anything about it, "I'm still not sure. One second I'm...trying to wake you up..."

The Hero's voice cracked as the long-suppressed thoughts of that night came back up. Rose squeezed her shoulder tighter, letting Sparrow know she was there for her. Taking a shuddering breath, the Hero plowed on with her story.

"The next, I'm waking up in a Gypsy caravan with Theresa, that woman we met...that day...telling me you were dead and that I had to become a Hero to avenge you."

Rose's grip got tighter, confusing Sparrow, who turned her head and saw a _very_ out of place glare on her older sister's face. It was every bit as fierce as the glare that had been on it when the two had thought that their counterpart was a Lucien trap. And she wasn't sure why Rose was so angry. Unless...she was angry at Theresa? But why would she be...the blind seer had saved Sparrow's life after all, when anyone else would have left her to die.

Of course, Sparrow couldn't possibly understand what was running through her sister's head at that moment.

_So it was _her_ who saved my little Sparrow. I should probably be thankful...but _she_ got us into that situation in the first place...I still can't forgive her_...

Rose was, understandably, still angry at Theresa. She was thankful that the woman had saved her sister certainly. But why lie and tell Sparrow that she was dead? The woman had obviously been around Bowerstone before. It would be impossible to _not_ go to the city and hear about 'the girl Lord Lucien tried to kill'. So either she had avoided Bowerstone for ten years, or the woman had _lied to her sister_. That alone would be enough to make even-tempered Rose furious, but...it would also mean that she could have found out her darling Sparrow was alive years ago, instead of meeting her as what amounted to nothing more than a coincidence.

"What's wrong Rose?" her sister's voice broke into her thoughts.

Rose let out a sigh, "It's been ten years...y'know?"

Sparrow nodded hesitantly, "Yes?"

"Ten years...and not once has that woman come to Bowerstone? I've been the talk of the town for so long that I'm used to it, but surely she would have heard about me at some point and come investigating. Right Sparrow?"

Those words hit the younger sister like a punch to her gut. It took all her willpower to _not_ pull out the Guild Seal and start yelling and ranting at her mentor. She may not have known where Theresa vanished to during her time away from the traveling camp Sparrow had been living at for the last decade, but it was hard to believe her travels never took her to Bowerstone. And even if they _hadn't_, the blind seer knew things she shouldn't all the time...why, then, would she have lied to Sparrow about Rose? It didn't make any sense!

Trying to comfort her sister as best she could, Rose sighed and tried to change the subject.

"So little Sparrow, why are you in Bowerstone? And what's with the old weapons?"

Sparrow realized what her sister was doing, and was thankful for it. Picking up her old sword from where it had fallen, the Hero examined the chipped and rusted blade. Her reflection in the old metal showed red and tear-stained eyes staring back at her, nothing like the determined face that she had worn when she received the weapon. Who would have thought one thing could so totally sap her of every bit of determination that she had once held.

Maybe that was why Theresa had kept Rose a secret...to maker sure Sparrow had a reason to fight. Sure, she still wanted Lucien to pay for what he had done, but knowing that Rose was alive and feeling her sister's warm body against her own...it took a lot of her anger away. Realizing her sister did want an answer, Sparrow set the sword in her lap and sighed.

"I'm...a Hero...Rose," the younger woman said, "Theresa told me that Lucien is trying to build something called the Tattered Spire. That big thing out in the ocean? That's it. Supposedly he can make any wish come true with it."

"And that's why you're fighting?" Rose asked.

Sparrow nodded, "Yeah...and what about you? A guard are we?"

Rose blushed slightly, and mumbled something under her breath. Sparrow giggled, feeling so happy at being able to rib her sister again. She didn't even notice the punch to her arm, or just ignored it in favor of laughing more. Oh how she had missed this.

"If you must know," Rose said, crossing her arms irritably, "I joined to pay Derek back for saving me. I'm sorry that not everyone can be a super-special Hero, Sparrow."

Sparrow just grinned and patted her sister's arm, "Don't worry sis...you can do anything I can do, I'm sure of it. Come on, let's head to the Guild and see if you can learn some Will like I did."

"'The Guild'?" Rose asked, standing up and retrieving her sword as Sparrow did, "and we're heading to my barracks first. You, my dear little Sparrow, need a new sword."

Looking at her rusty blade once more, Sparrow couldn't argue the point. Shaking her head slightly, she waved Rose forward to lead the way to these 'barracks'. As the two walked, the Hero began to explain what the Guild was. Rose seemed interested to find out they were related to the Hero of Oakvale (even in these days, that name was famous in Albion). She was rather less enthusiastic at the end.

"_She's_ there?"

"Theresa? Most likely...look, I'm angry at her too Rose, but she had to have a good reason. Let's at least hear her out before you try cutting her up."

Rose sighed and nodded. She wouldn't actually cut the woman with her sword...Lucien, yes. Theresa...no. However angry she was at her, for many and varied reasons, Rose wouldn't actually hurt the woman who had saved her sister's life. In any case, she was distracted by the sound of barking. A familiar sight bounded into view, stopping at Sparrow's feet, before sniffing Rose. The dog barked happily after seemingly being satisfied by something, and jumped on Rose, trying to lick her face.

"He still likes you!" Sparrow said, laughing at the sight, "come on, get off her boy."

"This is that dog we found?" Rose asked, the pain of talking about that day slowly fading.

Sparrow nodded, a grin on her face as her canine friend circled around Rose, barking gleefully, "Yep. He found me before Theresa did, and hasn't left since."

Rose smiled, "Well at least someone I can trust has your back. And here we are, the barracks...oh...what if Derek is here?"

As it turns out, Rose was correct. The moment she opened the door, the two sisters nearly walked right into the old Guard, who smiled and was about to say hi to Rose...before he noticed who was next to her. At first, his face was confused as the guard looked back and forth between the two. A look of shocked understanding came over it after he realized how similar the two women looked to each other. Backing up to sit on a nearby chair, Derek shook his head as the two women walked in the building.

"Am I imagining things, or is your sister alive Rose?"

Rose nodded, while Sparrow was confused by the guilt in the old guard's voice. At least...she was confused until she remembered what Rose had said. She was only a guard because she was working to pay Derek back for saving her. And if the man had saved her sister...he probably felt guilty for not saving _her_ too. Something confirmed when the man turned fully to Sparrow, and grabbed one of her hands.

"I'm sorry I didn't find you too," the old guard said, "I thought only Rose here survived. If I had known what was happening that night..."

Sparrow shook her head, "I've never blamed you Derek. Only Lucien."

The guard nodded and let go of Sparrow's hand. Getting to his feet, the man walked to a chest in the corner of the room, and pulled out a magnificent sword. Not a longsword like Rose's, this was an augmented steel katana. The weapon had a slight tinge of fire to it when it moved, confirming the presence of a fire augment, as opposed to Rose's silver. And speaking of whom, the older sister seemed shocked to see that particular weapon. Sparrow looked at her sister, and raised an eyebrow in question.

"That's the Griever..." Rose said, a bit of awe in her voice, "Derek, you've never let _anyone_ use that."

The old guard shrugged as he handed Griever to the young Hero, "I was told, when I became Sheriff, that this sword could never be used by anyone but a Hero. Your sister fits the bill doesn't she?"

Rose couldn't dispute that point, as Sparrow experimentally swung the sword around, leaving a flaming trail every time it moved. Even she wasn't so at ease using a sword, especially not one like Griever. Then again, Sparrow obviously had no problems with fire...shaking her head slightly, Rose watched as Sparrow put her old longsword into the chest, and put Griever onto her back. They'd have to buy her a new crossbow, or better a rifle, in the market though. Saying goodbye to Derek, and promising to come back to visit at some point, the sisters set off for the Hero's Guild.

* * *

A short stop to pick Sparrow a rifle (an Iron flintlock in this case as neither woman was rich enough to afford anything better) only slightly slowed the pair down. Leaving Bowerstone behind, for the first time in her life in Rose's case, the two walked down the road back to Bower Lake. They spent the time catching up with each other, talking about Sparrow's time in the Camp, or Rose's training with the guards. Much laughter echoed along the Bower Road, garnering some odd looks from travelers, but nothing more. It was only when they arrived at Bower Lake that the story telling stopped.

The two sisters walked along the lake-side, occasionally tossing stones into it while Sparrow's dog ran around, sniffing and barking at random things. At least...until they reached Hero Hill. Rose looked up at the Hill warily, while Sparrow calmly walked up the winding path towards the top.

"Come on Rose, the path is stable!" Sparrow called down, once she realized her sister wasn't following her.

"Say's you," Rose muttered, walking behind her sister, before looking around in confusion when they reached the top of the hill.

There was no entrance to anything she could see up here, just a strange glowing blue circle...something that brought up some uncomfortable memories. Sparrow and her canine friend walked calmly up to the circle, stopping just long enough for the younger sister to wave Rose over. Hesitantly walking into the circle, Rose saw her sister pull out an odd object and push blue energy into it. The circle's light grew brighter, and a tingling sensation went over her, before Rose saw nothing but blackness.

When the darkness cleared, she found herself standing next to Sparrow in an old, ruined room. Torches provided light, and showed old paintings lining the walls, where it looked like most of the floor had collapsed into the ground. Standing across the walkway, at the center of the room, was Theresa. The blind woman turned to look at the pair, at first seeming mildly surprised that Sparrow had come back to the Guild...before hiding any emotions under her typical facade.

"Theresa," Sparrow began, walking towards her mentor, "care to explain?"

"Explain what little Sparrow?" Theresa asked in reply...the exact _wrong_ thing to say with Rose there.

For in a flash, the older sister was standing in front of the young Hero, her silver augmented blade drawn and pointed at the much older woman. Theresa seemed nonplussed by this, as Rose glared at her with the fiercest glare she could muster. Never once taking her eyes off the blind woman, Rose ground out a single sentence.

"_Never_ call her that. You_. _Do. Not. Have. The. Right."

Each word was punctuated with a stab of the longsword into the floor of the Chamber of Fate. Sparrow put a hand on her sister's shoulder, leading to Rose letting out a shudder before moving back to stand next to her sister. She never once took her eyes off of Theresa, or re-holstered her sword. Sparrow didn't say anything about that, knowing her sister needed to let her anger out _somehow_. Giving her shoulder one more comforting squeeze, Sparrow stepped forward again, her own eyes hard as she looked at her mentor.

"Rose, as you can obviously tell, never died," the Hero began, "_why_ did you not tell me that?! I trusted you Theresa...you've been the closest thing to another older sister I've had after Rose 'died'..._why did you lie to me?!_"

The last words came out in a choked sob, as Sparrow shook. Rose was quickly hugging her sister, while still not taking her eyes off of Theresa. The ancient woman sighed, as she walked up to the desk at the edge of the central platform. Theresa turned back to the sisters, her blind eyes looking over both of them, but focusing more on Sparrow. The shaking Hero was still trying to put herself back together, while Rose whispered soothing words in her ears.

"I did not know if she was truly your sister," Theresa finally said, her voice as emotionless as ever, "I had heard the rumors, but I could not be certain if Rose was a trap laid by Lucien, to catch either of us."

"But you said Lucien thought I was dead!" Sparrow shouted back.

"And he does," Theresa agreed, "but still, I did not want to get your hopes up if I could not confirm the girl I heard of to be Rose."

And the sad thing was...Sparrow couldn't argue that point. If Rose had turned out to be an imposter and Theresa had told her that her sister was alive...that might just have broken her. Hell, Sparrow had almost fallen apart when she first saw Rose...only the anger at the 'imposter' and then the pure joy at finding out Rose was alive had kept her together. So Theresa did have a valid reason...but the point remained that Sparrow doubted she could ever trust her mentor fully again. Not after this.

"Rose, follow me," the Hero said, walking past Theresa and to the center of the Chamber, "Stand on this."

Rose did as told, and felt..._power_...rushing through her body. Shaking slightly as she stepped off the platform, Rose stood next to Sparrow again. When her sister clapped her on the back, a bit of lightning flew from Rose's fingers. Both sisters looked down in shock...before laughing at the shock. Even Theresa allowed a small smile to cross her face. They couldn't stay long though...the quest to stop Lucien awaited...

* * *

**AN: Not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but I hope the readers enjoyed it at least! Next ones are better written I promise.**

**Still debating on pairings (or if there even _will_ be any) but we'll see how that goes. Reviews are always appreciated! :D**


	3. Rookridge

**AN: Thanks for the interest everyone! I'll reply to the reviews up here since half of them are guest ones ;)  
**

**Zomvee: **Glad you like it!

**EarlessSpark: **Good to know I'm doing well with the characters :D

**Cordelia Storyspinner:** Yeah, the fact you can't get anything but a letter out of Rose when you choose Love annoys me too. As to the pairings, I've decided that they'll stick to family love here, nothing more. Most likely with that out of the way, there probably won't be _any_ pairings, since the major relationship in this story is (and should be really) between Rose and Sparrow.

**ConfinedLake91:** Glad you like the story!

**I should note this chapter is the longest of the ones I've written so far, just a heads up ;)**

**EDIT 5/21/14:****As a reviewer pointed out, I managed to forget that you had to impress the Abbot before starting that quest. The quest to clear the bridge will be in Chapter 5 because of that.**

* * *

**On the road to Oakfield**

* * *

_Sparrow gave me back my journal, once we left the Guild. I can't believe I forgot about this, but I suppose I didn't want to think of places where Sparrow had been. Still don't really...probably because I still can't believe my sister is _alive_! It's still so hard to believe I have little Sparrow, not so little anymore, sleeping just a few feet away...I'm still not sure if I'm dreaming or not. Lord only knows I've been wishing to see Sparrow again for so many years. I never really expected those wishes to come true, especially not after what happened with that stupid music box. I almost had a heart attack when I saw her alive, that's for sure!_

_Then there's those powers of hers...Sparrow doesn't need a kit to light a fire, she can just look at wood and it will go up in flames. Okay, maybe that's exaggerating, but I would have never believed what she could do when we were kids. Griever is such a good fit for her that it isn't even funny. Then again, I can't really talk can I? While I'm not as good as Sparrow at this Will stuff, I can still shoot lightning out of my fingers. I would like to think I'm better with a sword though, but she's catching up to me quick if our spars are any indication. Who would have thought two little orphan girls would become the new Heroes?_

_I certainly couldn't believe it, but if Theresa is right about anything its our abilities. Derek was always saying I was one of the fastest learners he's ever seen. I just thought I was throwing everything into training after...that night. Turns out I've always had that potential and just didn't know it. Certainly explains how Sparrow was able to beat up bullies like Rex who were twice her size so easily. If what that woman has been telling Sparrow is true, about the Spire and what it could give Lucien, I think we should be happy we have these abilities. I know I am...I hate the idea of Sparrow fighting, probably my 'big sister instincts' again...she's perfectly capable of defending herself, and I know that...but I still hate the idea. I just want my little Sparrow to be able to live a normal life._

_Bah, no use in worrying Rose. I've never been to Oakfield before, so that should be interesting at least!_

Sighing slightly, Rose closed her book and lay down. The fire behind her crackled merrily, while the young woman looked up at the star-filled sky. This far outside Bowerstone, there were no obstructions blocking her view of the stars, and it was quite a different experience. Rose had never really payed much attention to the stars before, too much other things on her mind. Now though, she found it rather peaceful in a way. Just looking up as the stars twinkled in the sky, trying to pick out constellations.

A loud snore broke her thoughts, and brought a smile to Rose's face. Sparrow had always snored, so it was nice to see that some things stayed the same, no matter what else may have changed. And it was just as amusing, or maybe heartwarming, to see that dog (turns out Sparrow had named him Petal...she didn't need to guess why) curled up next to her sister protectively. Rose may have been unable to care for her little sister for so long, but Petal had stayed by her side that entire time, even when Theresa or the Gypsies hadn't. It was comforting, in a way, knowing that her sister had such a loyal companion...dog or not.

Still though...

"What are we doing?" Rose wondered aloud, as she continued to look up at the sky.

She may not have written these thoughts down, but most of Rose still thought of their task as the next best thing to impossible. Look at them...two newly minted Heroes, walking on a road that neither of them knew, to _hopefully_ find another Hero, who had even less idea what they were than the sisters did. Still, if it were easy then anyone could stop Lucien. Like it or not, Rose understood that much.

"Don't know how Sparrow can be so carefree," the older sister muttered to herself as she turned over to stare at the fire.

Her snoring sister seemed immune to all the worries plaguing Rose. Sparrow, if anything, seemed eager to go exploring. Rose wondered if the enormity of their task had actually set in with her sister yet or not. Still, as she wrote down in the journal, worrying about it was pointless. It was far too late to turn back...Lucien had to be stopped, and they were the only ones who could do it. So Rose turned back over and went back to watching the area around the camp. Carefree or not, Sparrow had some tactical sense and wanted one of them awake at all times, to avoid ambushes.

Made a certain amount of sense with the amount of bandits roaming Albion at any given time. The remnants of Thag's gang in specific...they would love to catch the Hero who killed their leader napping. So thus Rose stayed awake, absently drawing in the soil while Sparrow snored in the background. She would be damned before she let anyone hurt her sister on her watch...

* * *

**Morning**

* * *

By the time both of the sisters had gotten a decent amount of sleep, the sun had already risen over the Rookridge portion of the Bower Road. Storm clouds had begun to float in from the west though, and it lead to a wet day. Between the mud and the rain, it wasn't a fun task to walk along this road towards Oakfield. Of course, having difficulty with rain and mud was one thing. Rather more problematic news came from Theresa, whom they had discovered had a liking for contacting them over the Guild Seal(s) at random times.

_"Look out. There is a group of bandits ahead,"_ the Seer's voice said, sending both women off the road in a hurry, _"I would recommend ranged attacks."_

After they were off the main road, Sparrow and Rose crept forward, moving from rock to rock, or tree to tree, in the aim of making themselves as invisible as possible. When the pair reached a curve in the road, they began to hear the sound of the bandits Theresa had warned them about. Well, that and Petal started growling, something he only tended to do when enemies were around. Looking up from their hiding spots on the road, both sisters saw a group of six or so bandits with rifles aimed down on the road...obviously hoping to ambush anyone stupid enough to not notice them.

"I thought you said someone was coming Jimmy!" one of the bandits shouted, seemingly caring little about security.

"I told you, I saw two women down there! Hot ones too!" 'Jimmy' shouted back.

Both Rose and Sparrow shuddered slightly at the sound of that voice, and the not so subtly-hidden intentions in it. Being the better shot of the two, Sparrow carefully stuck her head over her rock and placed her new flintlock rifle on top of it, looking down the rudimentary sights at 'Jimmy'. For her part, Rose focused her Will into a pair of lightning bolts, crackling in both hands. Looking over at her sister, Rose nodded once. Sparrow nodded back, and pulled the trigger on her rifle.

A bullet flew from the barrel, flying straight and true...and through 'Jimmy's' head. The bandit flew back, as Rose leaped up and flung her lightning at two of the other bandits while Sparrow reloaded her rifle and shot one of the other men. Within a matter of seconds, the two Heroes had taken down four bandits. That still left two alive though, as a bullet grazed Rose's arm.

"Rose!" Sparrow shouted, firing a fireball at one of the surviving bandits, who started screaming as he tried to put the fire out.

"I'm okay!" Rose shouted back, bringing her pistol up and shooting the last bandit who had rolled down the cliff-face and was trying to stab Sparrow in the back.

When the man's body hit the ground, it ended the first real fight for Rose, and the first time Sparrow had someone other than Petal to work with. The Hero found she liked having someone to work with...but that didn't stop her from running over to Rose, who was holding her arm and grimacing slightly. The bullet hadn't hit anything vital, but it was _painful_ to be sure. Sparrow pulled her sister's hand off her arm, and winced at the bloody gash.

Rose quickly put her hand back on it, and smiled at her younger sister, "It's not that bad Sparrow. Just needs a potion and I'll be fine."

The younger sister looked distinctly unconvinced, but nodded and pulled out a low-strength health potion. While she was convinced Rose was just putting on the 'strong older sister' act again, that didn't mean she could afford to waste one of the few, and far more expensive, high-strength potions. A basic healing one should suffice. Handing the potion to her sister, Rose downed it in one gulp...grimacing slightly at the taste, as the gash in her arm stopped bleeding, leaving little more than a small scar to mark her ever getting hit.

Shaking her arm, and marveling as ever at the fact that there was no lingering pain, Rose smiled at Sparrow, "See, told you it was nothing. Let's keep going."

Sparrow nodded, and walked in the lead, keeping her rifle drawn. The two sisters walked up the path past the bandit corpses, only stopping long enough to get any money the thugs had on them. Pockets a little heavier, Rose and Sparrow continued down the path, trying to ignore the rain soaking them to the bone. Shaking her rain-soaked hair out of her eyes, Rose noticed something in the distance. She groaned, and started to run forward. Sparrow looked confused, until she noticed what her sister had seen.

Cursing slightly, the younger Hero followed her older counterpart...staring out at a ruined bridge. The Rookridge Bridge was split neatly in two, the center section either burned or collapsed into the river _far_ below them. And it was the only bridge they could use too. Seemed like it wasn't a natural collapse either, if the three men on the other side were any indication. While the Rookridge Inn looked abandoned, there were three more bandits on the other side of the collapsed bridge, laughing and pointing at the sisters.

"Hah, look! Two travelers who can't travel!" one of the men shouted fairly drunkenly.

"Yeah, how're you going to cross the river _now_?!" another added, laughing all the while.

As the men laughed at them, Sparrow's finger twitched on her rifles trigger, as she was very tempted to shoot the men. Wouldn't do any good though, since it was three against two and there was no cover to use this time. So she settled for looking at Rose and asking an unspoken question. While neither sister was sure when it had happened, Rose was the leader in their little group. As such, she bit her lip and tried to think of a way through this mess. While it was possible there was another crossing _somewhere_ along this river, it would be a long detour, something they didn't have time for.

_If_ there was another crossing. Neither woman knew the area, so for all they knew there wasn't anything other than this ruined bridge. So Rose turned back to her sister, and shrugged.

_Damn it...what now..._ Sparrow thought.

"Well little Sparrow, what now?" the elder sister asked.

"'Sparrow'? What sort of name is tha...OW!" one of the bandits shouted, only to start hopping around holding his leg after Sparrow shot it without even taking her eyes off her sister.

"Why'd you have to shoot Charlie?!" one of the other bandits shouted.

Electing to ignore the drunken idiots, the two sisters looked down. The river below them was deep, but it was still a _very_ long jump. Long jump or not though, it was probably the only way to continue.

_"You will have to jump. Do not worry, a Hero can survive the fall,"_ Theresa chimed in.

Upon hearing that, Sparrow shrugged and gave Rose a thumbs up...before leaping off the ledge with little-to-no hesitation. Rose shook her head, and looked down again. Sparrow left a mighty splash when she hit the water, but came back up quickly enough, shaking her hair out of her face. Looking up, Sparrow pointed at a nearby beach, and started swimming in that direction. Rose sighed, and took a deep breath.

_Come on Rose...you can do this!_

With that thought in her head, the older Hero jumped down. Rose felt the wind rush past her face, as the bandits looked down, seemingly shocked the women actually jumped. Rose didn't notice that however, as she felt the harsh slap of the cold water hitting her face. Gasping slightly, Rose quickly pushed her way to the surface, spitting out the water that had gotten into her lungs. Coughing and wheezing, the older Hero sister swam over to where Sparrow was, shaking water out of her hair.

Climbing out of the water, Rose rubbed her arms to get feeling back in them after that reckless leap. Sparrow walked up to her sister and gave her a java, as a 'pepper up'. Rose nodded gratefully, and downed the potion. As the feeling of warmth spread through her body, the older Hero walked with her sister, to the entrance of a rather foreboding cave. Shivering slightly as she looked into it, Rose noticed her sister giving her an understanding look.

"Giving you a bad feeling innit?" the younger sister said, looking warily at the cave.

"That, my dear Sparrow, is an understatement," Rose said dryly, looking into the dark entrance.

Before either woman could contemplate entering the cave, Petal's barking drew their attention. A man was stumbling into sight from part of a ruined building next to the cave, looking harried and weak. The man walked up to the sisters, looking relieved to see other people. Though he still seemed to be very worried about something, if the furtive glances he was sending the cave were any indication.

"You two look strong...please help me find my son! Joey was taken in the cave and I can't go in there alone!" the man shouted, sounding on the verge of tears.

The Heroes shared a look, before Sparrow nodded at the man, "Don't worry, we'll help you find your son!"

And with that, the pair walked into the dark entrance of the cave...no idea what awaited them inside.

* * *

_Ugh...this place _stinks_!_ Rose thought, holding her nose as the little group finally entered a larger room.

The area looked like an abandoned mine, with old wooden planks bracing the walls around the entrance. That didn't account for the smell though, as it didn't smell like old lamps or anything like that. If anything, the smell was coppery like...blood? Oh, now that bad feeling was getting even worse! Something was seriously wrong in this cave, even _Petal_ was whimpering for Avo's sake!

"Rose," Sparrow said, as the man in between the heroes shook violently, "please tell me I'm not the only one with a bad feeling here?"

"You aren't," Rose replied, holding a bolt of lightning in her hand as impromptu lighting, "something is very wrong in this cave. Any ideas mister?"

The man flinched slightly, seeming surprised that he was addressed directly. Looking down on Rose (who was rather short really), the man sighed. He didn't seem happy to be answering the question oddly...like he knew something he hadn't told the Heroes before they came in here.

"I think the cave has a...Hobbe...problem," he finally answered, flinching again at the resultant glares.

"A Hobbe 'problem'?" Sparrow asked sarcastically, as she pulled Griever off her back.

"Please, that's why I need you to help me! My son is in here!"

Rose blew out a sigh, "We'll help, but you need to _tell_ us these things okay?"

The man nodded weakly as the group started walking again. Rose and Sparrow both knew very well what Hobbes were. Neither had actually _seen_ one of the little goblins before, but everyone in Albion knew the stories. There was a reason why mines were rare and far-between in the nation, and it was because Hobbes were viscous little buggers, and all too common in caves or other underground areas. At least it explained the smell of blood, more so than a bandit camp.

The smell got worse as the group moved further along through the cave, before they came to a large and well-lit room...covered in blood and bones. Rose gagged while Sparrow's hold on her new sword went white. Petal whimpered even more, while the father flat out vomited at the sight. Just thinking of how many people had to have died to leave that much blood and that many bones was horrifying. Sparrow recovered first, and grabbed her sister's hand, the two quickly moving past the room while the father recovered and hurried to catch up. The group moved out of the 'horror room' and into another small hallway. Petal barked and pointed his foot at a nearby treasure chest, that Rose opened up.

Despite the size of the chest, only two health potions were inside it, along with a bag with maybe a hundred gold pieces. Not much, but it was useful at any rate. Tossing the potions to Sparrow while adding the gold to her meager stocks, the two sisters continued along their path. Growling, not dog growling either, echoed from in front of them, leading to Rose drawing her own silver-augmented Lancer.

"Stay back," Sparrow told the father, as she crept forward with Griever's fire augment providing the equivalent of a long torch.

As the sisters reached the last turn, they saw an old wooden panel blocking on side of a large opening in the cave, while the other side was open. And through both, they could see a truly disgusting and horrifying sight. Four grey creatures, that _had_ to be Hobbes, were gathered on top of what looked like old tracks for mining carts. The Hobbes were gathered in a circle, heads down and stubby arms tearing at _something_. Gagging once more, Rose moved towards the broken old wood.

Unfortunately for her, she stepped on an old bone on the way there. The resounding crack that echoed down the cave alerted the Hobbes, who jumped to their feet and turned to the sound. Rose was frozen in shock, as the Hobbes roared at her...looking fiercer than their size should indicate as their razor-sharp teeth flashed in the dim lighting. The creatures picked up clubs and started charging at the older Hero.

"Look out Rose!" Sparrow shouted, leaping forward, Griever flashing in the dim light.

Rose ducked on instinct, watching as a Hobbe leaped over her head...and was promptly impaled on Sparrow's sword. The disgusting creature let out a scream of pain as the fire-coated blade stabbed and burned its insides, before the younger Hero kicked it off and swung her blade to parry a blow from another Hobbe's club. The club bounced back, catching on fire and scaring the Hobbe holding it. The frightened creature, obviously not expecting its weapon to turn into a torch, dropped the flaming club and a follow up blow from Sparrow sent the creature flying into a wall.

For her part, Rose's silver-augmented blade didn't do anything so dramatic. As two of the Hobbes approached her, she flung the bolt of lighting that, by some miracle, hadn't left her hand. The bolt shocked one of the Hobbes, keeping it occupied with trying to control muscle spasms. The other Hobbe roared in anger, and tried to kneecap Rose with its club. The older Hero brought Lancer into a parrying position, catching the club. While Rose was not what anyone would call large or muscular, she was still larger than the Hobbe, and a longsword would beat a wooden club any day. Pushing forward, she knocked the Hobbe back and swung herself around.

The flourish did its job, as the Hobbe was unable to block Rose's return swing, that sent head and body flying in different directions. The last Hobbe, recovering from its...shocking...encounter with the Heroes, dropped its club and ran away screaming at the top of its child-like lungs. Rose's pistol put an end to that quickly enough.

"That...was terrifying," Rose said, once she had cleaned her blade off.

"You're telling me!" Sparrow replied, "I knew Hobbes were bad but...that was something else!"

Both sisters shuddered, before turning back to the man they had left behind. He was looking wide-eyed at the carnage, while Petal panted next to him, occasionally nudging the man with his nose. Seeing the Heroes looking at him seemed to shock the father out of his stupor, though the wide-eyed look never vanished. Quickly walking up to the pair, the man started thanking them profusely for agreeing to help his son, any doubts as to their abilities (which, honestly should have vanished the moment he saw them survive _jumping off a bridge_) had vanished after that little skirmish.

Nodding at the man, Sparrow took the lead again. Rose was the 'leader' but Sparrow was the better fighter, so it made more sense that she lead the group. In this case, they had to warily walk up old wooden walkways, that probably hadn't been properly maintained in years. And the creaking noises the wooden planks made was not helping matters either.

"Are you sure this is entirely..._safe_? I mean, these rickety wooden walkways?" the father asked, creeping along behind the Heroes.

"Probably not," Sparrow replied candidly.

The man gulped, and started to move quicker to get to stable ground. Thankfully the walkways held the weight of three humans and a dog, allowing them to reach the highest point in the mines yet. Another narrow hallway greeted the little group, who sighed at the sight. Sparrow held her sword in front of her, as she warily walked forward. Or at least tried to. For the moment the group walked into the next room, a child's voice echoed off the walls.

"That's Joey! I'm coming Joey!" the father shouted...before promptly shoving his way past the Heroes and running faster than they thought possible.

"At least he's a good father..." Sparrow said, shaking her head slightly.

Rose would have replied with a suitably witty comment...but a growling sound announced more Hobbes. A swarm of the disgusting little creatures charged from every direction, surrounding the Hero sisters. Sparrow and Rose stood back-to-back, sword in one hand and Will spell in the other. Petal circled around them, growling at the Hobbes. The creatures growled back, brandishing clubs and at least one old rifle at the little group. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, one of the Hobbes broke ranks, charging with a scream as it swung its club wildly.

Rose and Sparrow both hit it with their Will abilities. The Hobbe fell to the ground, smoking from both actual burns and electric burns. Unfortunately, the charge of the one Hobbe set the rest of the creatures off, as a screaming horde of them charged the sisters. Rose and Sparrow worked as a team, swinging and stabbing their augmented weapons, occasionally shooting off a bullet or Will spell.

"Duck!" Rose shouted, swinging Lancer over her sister's head as a Hobbe jumped off a ledge.

The creature went flying into a wall, a bloody gash cut through its torso. Petal jumped on it and finished the Hobbe off, while Sparrow returned the favor and shot a fireball at a Hobbe that tried to knock her sister in the back. The Hobbe fell to the ground, while another took its place. Griever and Lancer came together, silver flashing off fire as the Hero sisters spun off each other, Sparrow sending out a kick that sent a Hobbe flying over the rest of the swarm. For her part, Rose pulled out her pistol and shot another of the creatures through the skull.

Without even realizing it, that was the last of the Hobbes. Rose and Sparrow panted, looking around at the scene of devastation.

"Dear Avo..." Rose breathed.

"This is what we signed up for," Sparrow said in disbelief, before shaking her head, "should have expected something like this eh? Let's find that man before he gets himself killed."

Stepping over fallen Hobbes, the pair of Heroes rushed out of the room, trying to find the father before something happened to him. They found the man banging on a locked door, trying to open it.

"Joey is behind this door but I can't get it open! Maybe there's another way around?" the man said when he noticed the sisters.

Sharing a look, the sisters silently agreed on a plan. Sparrow set off to find a way around, while Rose stayed with the father to make sure something didn't happen to him. She hated sending her sister off alone, but if anything was true, it was Sparrow proving herself to be an excellent Hobbe slayer. Turning her attention back to the father, Rose heard him muttering soothing words through the door. It brought a sad smile to her face, as her memories of her own parents were vague at the best of times.

That smile vanished quickly however, when the door suddenly swung open...revealing a Hobbe in a child's clothing. The father flinched back, eyes going wide in fear and disbelief, as a red fireball came into view, sending the Hobbe-ified Joey into a wall. Falling to his knees, the man looked at his dead and disfigured son, tears falling to the ground.

"I always told him those stories were fake...that Hobbes weren't really kidnapped kids...but they were true! Dear Avo they were true!"

Before Rose could do more than reach out a comforting hand, the man fell to the ground. A knife clattered to the ground next to him...the father couldn't live with himself. Sucking in a shuddering breath, Rose didn't even say anything when a cursing Sparrow came into view, a gash on her head from a lucky Hobbe swing. Both sisters looked at each other, near-identical grimaces on their faces. All that, and they were still too late.

There was probably a lesson in there somewhere, that they couldn't save everyone...Hero or no Hero. But neither of them were really in the mood to think about that at the moment, as they moved the two bodies to lay next to each other. They couldn't carry either the father or Hobbe-Joey out of the cave, but at least they could do this much for them.

"Come on little Sparrow, let's get out of this place," Rose said, rubbing a bit of water on her sister's gash...a potion would leave her more light-headed than the wound itself...head-wounds were like that, since the elder sister had no idea if this was just a gash or something deeper.

Sparrow grimaced slightly in pain, but nodded, "Yeah, I never want to see this place again."

The two sisters (plus Petal) ran up the path, emerging into a large, open cavern...and just as quickly ducking back into the hall. The cavern was littered with Hobbes, even more than the last encounter with the creatures. Thankfully the Hobbes hadn't noticed either of the Heroes, though that didn't make the idea of fighting through that many of the things any easier. Regrouping, the Hero sisters tried to put together a workable plan.

In the end, they decided on doing the same thing they had done to the Bandits...with a small alteration. Rose had recognized some barrels next to the largest Hobbe groups. Gunpowder storage for the few rifles and blunderbusses the Hobbes had. Instead of shooting a Hobbe with her first shot, Sparrow would hit the largest collection of gunpowder barrels, while Rose used her lightning on any other ones in sight. Nodding at each other, the sisters took position.

"Fire in the hole!" Sparrow shouted, firing her rifle at the exact same time.

The shout served its purpose, sending the Hobbes into a flurry of movement...but distracting them from the bullet flying its way across the cavern. The small lead shell hit the gunpowder barrels, setting off a massive explosion that sent Hobbes flying in every direction. Rose's lightning-fueled detonations were no less impressive, the combination of the two clearing out all the Hobbes before they had any idea of what was happening. Walking through the burnt path, the sisters breathed sighs of relief at finally reaching the exit.

* * *

They had to blink away the sudden, if still watery, sunlight but it was with extreme relief that the new Heroes stepped out of their first major test. Even the rain couldn't put a damper on their suddenly soaring spirits.

"I never want to do that again," Rose began, "but..."

"It was awesome fighting with you sis," Sparrow finished, clapping her sister on the back, "a lot better than doing this alone!"

Rose smiled slightly, before proceeding to worry about the still bleeding gash on her sister's head. Sparrow tried to pass it off as nothing, much as Rose had done herself with the earlier bullet wound, but her sister would have none of that. As she gave her younger sister a potion, Rose could have sworn she heard her little Sparrow muttering something along the lines of 'yes mum' several times. That managed to bring a smile to her face. It was probably accurate too...lacking a parental figure, Rose was the closest thing that Sparrow had ever had to one.

Once the wound was mostly healed (there might be internal damage that neither sister would know what to do about), the pair set off back for Oakfield. Well, off in that direction minus a small detour to take care of the drunk bandits so that the bridge could, hopefully, be repaired. Not everyone was a Hero that could jump down a valley and fight through a cave full of Hobbes just to get to Oakfield after all.

Speaking of that town, the rest of the walk there was as uneventful as the way through the cave had been eventful. In other words, absolutely nothing of interest happened until the sisters actually _reached_ the town. Oakfield was like a polar opposite to Rookridge, all sunlight and calm forests.

"It's beautiful," Rose breathed, looking out at the rolling fields and fertile ground.

"I love it!" Sparrow shouted, running forward gleefully, with Petal on her heels.

Rose grinned at her eager sister, following at a more sedate pace. Both sisters entered the town itself at roughly the same time, as Sparrow took several detours that slowed her down relative to Rose. The town was tiny compared to bustling Bowerstone, but that just added to the place's charm. It was relaxing in a way, to just have a few villagers wandering around giving kind greetings, instead of running into dozens of angry citizens just trying to get somewhere.

_Everyone is so _friendly_ here!_ Rose marveled, as someone complimented the sisters on their looks.

Thoroughly blushing Heroes walked into the nearest shop, to sell off some jewels that Petal had found on the way to the town. The money from that went into drastically increasing the potion stocks, now that both sisters knew that they would be getting into some harsh fights on this quest of theirs. The leftover money was spent on getting Rose an actual rifle to replace her pistol, so the two Heroes could fight better at a distance.

Pockets heavier with potions than gold, the two continued to explore the town. Oakfield was split into several sections. The main 'shopping district', little more than a few stalls and the blacksmith was at the center of the town. Further along towards the coast...and in view of the Tattered Spire...was the town's pub. Neither sister drank, so that was something they didn't really care for.

It was the structure on a hill on the other side of the town that really got their attention.

"That the Temple of Light?" Sparrow asked her sister.

"I think so," Rose replied carefully, "can't be sure though. You're forgetting you know more about Albion outside Bowerstone than _I_ do Sparrow."

Sparrow scratched her head, "Right. Easy to forget that you aren't the all-knowing older sister anymore."

Rose simply punched her grinning sister's arm, leading to Sparrow laughing at her sister. Electing to ignore the continuing giggles, Rose lead the way up the hill. Even the hill the building was built on was beautiful, as the path took the sisters past a waterfall, the first either had ever seen outside of the occasional painting they had used for firewood during the bitter Bowerstone winters. The cold spray from the waterfall was far more refreshing than the Rookridge rain, as it splashed in their faces.

Continuing on up the hill, the Heroes saw the entrance to the Temple of Light. The small circular building stood out quite a bit thanks to its status as the only building on this hill, allowing the pair an easy way to talk to the Abbot like Theresa had told them to. Or, at least they would have if not for the fact the man seemed to be occupied talking to two of the monks. Sparrow was ready to barge right in, but Rose held out an arm and shook her head.

"Impressions little Sparrow," the elder Hero reminded her somewhat impulsive sister, "we don't want the Abbot thinking we're immature children."

The pout on Sparrows face wasn't helping matters either. Still though, she acknowledged the point and stayed outside the Temple until the Abbot actually waved the two Hero sisters into the building. Walking into the small Temple, the pair felt it had a comforting atmosphere with the blue torches giving it a somewhat unique lighting.

"Welcome to the Temple of Light," the Abbot began, "I'm afraid you have found us at an...unfortunate time. Today is the day where we plant a new Golden Oak."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sparrow asked.

"Actually...there is," the much older man replied with a small smile, "the tradition states that two of the Order's members go into the Sacred Cave to gather the water needed for the Golden Oak. However, none of our small group have been down there in decades. I was hoping that someone else would escort my daughter, our water-bearer, through the caves."

The two sisters conversed with each other, before Rose stepped forward, "We'll do it."

"I'm afraid only two are allowed in the cave. One of you shall have to remain here."

It didn't even take long to decide which sister would go into the Cave. Rose hated the idea of sitting around while her sister did the work, just like in the Hobbe Cave, but she _was_ the better fighter. If something happened down there, it was better that Sparrow be with the Abbots daughter...presumably the nascent Hero of Strength. So it was with a worried frown on her face, that Rose watched her little sister walk down the hill towards the distant cave...

* * *

**AN: And there we go. As you can tell, I'm currently updating weekly (on Tuesdays). In theory, that will be when I update every week. This story is _that_ fun to write :D**


	4. Hero of Strength

**AN: And here we go. Again, I apologize for somehow forgetting the order of the quests in the last chapter.**

**Hope everyone enjoys the chapter! :D**

* * *

**Oakfield**

* * *

"Well Petal, alone again aren't we?" Sparrow asked, walking alongside her dog through the 'streets' of Oakfield.

Her trusted dog barked at the Hero, ambling along beside her. Sparrow grinned at that, as she followed instructions one of the citizens had given her. The Cave was a fair walk away from the Temple, though it wasn't _that_ hard to find really. Walking through shade cast by the many trees of Oakfield, the younger sister had to admit Rose was right about this place. It was very calming to just listen to nature and walk through the trees.

The singing in the background was rather soothing too...wait, singing? Sparrow listened closer, and indeed, she could hear a woman's voice singing in the distance. Following the sound of the voice, the young hero came upon the entrance to the cave. Sitting on a ruined piece of wall by the cave was quite possibly the largest woman she had ever seen. And all of it was muscle, not a hint of fat.

_Well, I think I found the Hero of _Strength_..._Sparrow thought, a hint of amusement going through her.

"I knew my beautiful singing voice would draw the crowds," the red-haired woman said, "name's Hannah, though some monks think they're smart and call me 'Hammer'...they're not."

Sparrow snorted, as she nodded at the other woman, "Sparrow. I'm your escort."

Hannah dropped down from her perch, tossing her drink aside. Petal ran up to her, and started sniffing the new woman. Sometimes that dog was really too curious for his own good. Thankfully, the larger woman seemed to have no problems with it. She got on her knees and let Petal lick her face while she petted him. Sparrow smiled slightly...something about her dog seemed to be likeable to just about anyone. Well, anyone but those Hobbes...probably best not to tell her new 'friend' about that...

"Aren't you a good boy! What's his name?" the monk asked.

"Petal," Sparrow replied, "don't laugh at the name...it's a _long_ story."

Hannah grinned, before getting back to her feet and walking over to a jug that was possibly as big as Rose. Shaking her head slightly at how easily the other women lifted such a massive object, Sparrow started walking towards the entrance to the cave. She hesitated slightly at the entrance...that same bad feeling from the Hobbe cave coming back. Shaking her head slightly (why would there be Hobbes in a _sacred_ cave?), Sparrow plunged into the darkness.

Unlike the last cave, this one was much better lit, and seemed to be a more natural formation. The fact there was enough space for both Sparrow and Hannah surprised the young Hero, but then again, it had to be big enough to maneuver that monster of a jug around.

"So, what's the story?" Hannah asked, as the pair walked down a long, winding pathway.

"Eh?" Sparrow asked, looking over her shoulder.

"You said it's a long story about your little friend's name?"

"Oh...that..."

"If you aren't comfortable, you don't have to tell me. Just curious is all."

Sparrow sighed heavily. Turning her head back to walk down the path, she tried to not think about those long years thinking Rose was dead. And tried to convince herself that this was just harmless curiosity on Hannah's part...not anything wrong with it, especially since this far from Bowerstone or the Gypsy camp no one would know about the sisters, or their story. She doubted very seriously that many people this far into Albion even knew Lucien had left.

Knowing that Hannah wanted an answer either way, Sparrow started talking, without turning her head so that the latent Hero behind her wouldn't see how wet her eyes were at talking about those horrible, _horrible_, years.

"I have an older sister," the Hero began, "she's the only family I've ever known. You see, we were orphans in Bowerstone, never knew our parents...or at least I didn't. My sister said she has some vague memories, but not enough to tell me their names. Anyway, her name is Rose y'see, and she's always been there for me. Until, a horrible day ten years ago. You've heard of Lucien right?"

Hannah nodded, "Yeah, who hasn't? I heard he vanished years ago though, but I thought that was just a rumor?"

Sparrow shuddered as the memories came to the forefront of her mind, her grip on Griever tightening, "I wish they were. Rose and I were poor, Bowerstone isn't a good place to live for orphan children. A trader passed through one day though, with what he claimed was a magic music box. I was all eager to buy it, just because it was _magic_ y'know? Childish curiosity I guess...anyway, Rose and I gathered the money for the bloody thing, and she made a wish on it. Where we lived we could see Castle Fairfax, and Rose wished we could live there...she did it for me, self-sacrificing as always."

As Sparrow continued to talk, a tone of fondness in her voice when she talked about Rose, the pair of women entered into the central chamber of the cave. Hannah interrupted Sparrow to explain the rooms function, before stepping onto a plate and opening a door. Walking through the opened gate, the pair came upon a large, open cavern. Lights called 'wisps', according to Hannah, decorated the ceiling. The lost souls truly were beautiful, proving such a nice backdrop and lighting to the room.

As the pair kept walking on, Sparrow kept talking. It felt...good...to finally get all this off her chest. She had been holding it in for years, and hadn't really told the story to anyone other than Theresa, who whatever else she was, was not a good listener.

"The music box vanished after she made the wish. So it was magic at least, not that it seemed to help us much...a weeks worth of food that gold could have bought in the cheaper stalls, but we wasted it on a worthless, if magical, trinket. But in the middle of the night, we were summoned to Castle Fairfax."

"Your wish came true?" Hannah asked curiously.

Sparrow snorted, "I wish. When we met Lucien, he told us to stand in a circle in his study. A circle of magic came up around us, and freaked Lucien out. He...he..."

Hannah set her jug down as Sparrow started shaking, tears falling to the ground. She may have just met the Hero, but that didn't mean the monk couldn't try comforting her. It was obvious something very bad had happened in that tower, and she was regretting ever asking about it. Sparrow took a deep breath as Hannah patted her on the back, before getting to her feet again, not even remembering falling to her knees. Rubbing her eyes, she gave a grateful, if watery, smile to Hannah.

"Sorry 'bout that...it's...not easy to think about that night."

"You don't have to tell me more y'know," Hannah replied, picking her jug back up and walking in front this time.

Sparrow sighed, "I've gotten this far, might as well finish. Lucien...he was convinced that either Rose or I would eventually grow up to stop whatever it was he was planning. He chose to...prevent that. He shot Rose, and...it looked like she was dead. She wouldn't move, and I couldn't get her to talk. Then he shot me...I still don't know how I survived falling out of that tower..."

Hannah gasped, "That's horrible!"

Sparrow nodded...she still had nightmares, even with Rose back. Electing to let Hannah explain the system of filling the jug before continuing, the two Heroes (or future Heroes as the case may be) stood together on a platform as water filled the jug. Sparrow stared out at the water surrounding the room, watching as drops from the jug sent ripples spreading out. She was so lost in thought that Hannah decided to just stay quiet and let the other woman marshal her thoughts.

That, and she was still in shock. While Sparrow hadn't said how old she and her sister were at the time...she couldn't be older than 18 at the moment. Unless Rose was significantly older, the two couldn't have even been in their teens at the time. The thought of a man, any man, gunning down two little girls just because he thought they might grow up to threaten him (why not be nice and get them on his side?)...it made her grip on her jug tighten. As a Temple of Light monk, Hannah was at least _supposed_ to be a pacifist. Yet, she felt like bashing Lucien's face in for doing something like that to someone who seemed so _nice_. She couldn't imagine losing a sibling like that...if her father were shot in front of her, the latent Hero of Strength didn't know if she could take it without breaking.

Sparrow's voice broke into the other woman's thoughts, her voice sounding oddly detached, "I did survive though. Petal found me, along with a woman named Theresa, who nursed me back to health. I'm sure you can imagine why I named my little friend Petal now can't you? In honor of Rose...since I was now alone, aside from Petal and I wanted someone at least to remember my sister existed. For ten years, I trained to get revenge on Lucien. Get the man back for taking away the only family I ever had, the only person I ever loved."

Hannah winced, "Ten years?"

"Yes. I spent ten years with the knowledge that my sister was dead, and the man who _murdered _her was free to do whatever he wanted. It took all my willpower to not go charging into Bowerstone to try and kill him the moment I woke up actually. As it is, I didn't return until just a few days ago. People kept giving me odd looks, though I wasn't sure why. At least, until I got to my old home...and found Rose alive."

Hannah nearly dropped her jug at that, as she looked at Sparrow with wide eyes, "She's alive!"

Sparrow nodded, "Yes. You have _no_ idea how happy I am about that too. Anyway, now you know the story. Told ya it was long."

"You've got that right...I don't know how you got through all that," Hannah replied, as she lifted the full jug, "ugh, this thing is even _heavier_ now."

Sparrow chuckled, and stepped off the platform with the other woman and Petal following behind her. The little group walked back in the 'wisp' room, expecting to just have a long walk back up to the central chamber, nothing else. Of course, in the life of Sparrow, nothing was ever easy. She walked up the ramp, only to look up and see one of the wisps coming down from the ceiling. Tilting her head at it, the Hero watched curiously as the blue light entered the ground.

Of course, that curiosity turned to shock...and a fair amount of fear as a _corpse_ came out the ground. Dressed in old rags, the corpse was little more than a skeleton, holding a pair of rusty blades in its hands. Sparrow backed up, as Hannah shouted out the name of the terrifying creature...a Hollow Man. The corpse ran forward, swinging its blades at the young Hero.

Sparrow ducked the first swing, bringing Griever up to counter the Hollow Man's strikes. The corpse was deceptively strong...likely magic of some sort. Its rusty blades pushed the fiery Griever back, as Sparrow was forced to jump back to avoid another swing. Making another attempt to take the monster down, she turned her sword and brought it down on the Hollow Man's arm. The bone shattered from the blow, as the dusty old clothes that garbed the Hollow Man caught alight thanks to the katana's fire augment.

Sparrow's blade continued on past the broken arm, slicing through the center of the Hollow Man, and bringing the creature down. Sparrow was about to turn around and grin at Hannah...when Petal started growling. Turning back to the path ahead, the Hero's eyes went wide at the sight of even more Hollow Men rising from the ground further up the path.

_This could be a problem_...

* * *

**Temple of Light**

* * *

While Sparrow was fighting for her life in the Cave, Rose was twiddling her thumbs in the Temple of Light. With little to do, the elder Sister was stuck worrying about her little sister, and knowing there was nothing she could do to help her. The Abbot tried to reassure her that nothing was wrong and that the cave was perfectly safe, but it did little to calm Rose down. She was a habitual worrier at the best of times, and with the fact she'd only had Sparrow back for a few days...being separated this long did _not_ help her nerves any.

_Damn it...why couldn't they have let me go with her!_

Part of Rose was fully ready to march down to the cave, regardless of the Temple's traditions. But the rest of her knew that Sparrow wouldn't want her doing something like that, and thus, Rose stayed in the Temple.

"I know you are worried about your sister," the Abbot was saying, "but it is perfectly safe."

"Then why did you send _her_ down there instead of one of your monks?!" Rose snapped, before apologizing quickly.

The Abbot waved off her apology, "No need to apologize my child. While I am sure it is perfectly safe, I felt better if someone who could fight was with my daughter."

Rose winced as she remembered that...it was the man's daughter down there with her little Sparrow. He probably wasn't anymore happy about the situation than she was. Apologizing once again, Rose got to her feet and left the Temple to get some fresh air. Perhaps that would help her nerves more than just sitting around doing nothing at least. Walking out of the Temple, she nodded at the few monks walking the grounds, before walking down the hill's reverse side, and sitting in the shade of one of the many trees growing on the hill.

Taking out her journal, Rose started to write down the events of the day, from the Hobbe Cave to the worries she had about Sparrow. As she wrote, the tension slowly left the older Hero's body. Sure, she was still worried about Sparrow, but there wasn't anything she could do, and if Rose _did_ need to do something, she needed to be at the top of her game...not a tightly coiled bundle of useless nerves. So, forcing herself to relax, Rose leaned back against the tree and just listened to the sounds of nature around her.

_I worry too much...can't help it though. Sparrow is all I have, and I can't lose her _again_...I don't think I could survive it._

Sighing, Rose looked up at the tree above her. The leaves cast a pleasant shadow, providing shade from the hot weather in Oakfield. While the town was beautiful, it _was_ summer. And Albion was famous for its hot summers as much as its bitterly cold winters. Perhaps she would have been better off siting next to the waterfall. Still, Rose let out another sigh and just let the wind blow her long hair loose, and cool her face down. As worried as she was, at least the town was relaxing.

Or was relaxing at any rate. As Rose started to drift off slightly from the cool breeze, she was suddenly startled fully awake. The sun had started to go down, letting the first stars come to the sky. That wasn't what had drawn her attention however. Rose heard shouting coming from the Temple above her, frantic shouting that sounded scared. The first thought that ran through her head was something happening to Sparrow, and that got Rose to her feet and running up the hill faster than she thought possible.

But she nearly slipped and fell face-first into the wall surrounding the Temple when she heard a distorted male voice, "Where is your daughter? Lord Lucien requests her presence!"

_Lucien? Oh no...oh no, no, no...he must know about the other Heroes!_

Slowing down, Rose crept the rest of the way up the hill quietly. Looking over the wall, she saw one of the monks running towards the cave, likely to find Sparrow and the Abbot's daughter. Rose was extremely tempted to follow herself, but knew that would just be a waste of time...that man Lucien sent had to still be inside the Temple. Crawling over the wall, the young Hero moved silently up to a window, and looked inside the Temple. The Abbot was being held at gunpoint, calmly staring down a man in an odd uniform. The man, who could only be Lucien's man, was huge. And the gun he was pointing at the Abbot was high-quality.

Leaving behind his fortune in Castle Fairfax or not, Lucien obviously still retained influence if he could get such fine weapons, and such massive men as guards. Ducking down to avoid being seen, Rose tried to think of a plan. She couldn't just charge in the Temple. If she tried, the soldier would probably just shoot the Abbot to prevent Rose rescuing him. And she wasn't confident in her ability to take that big of a man down before he shot _her_ either.

But by the same token, she couldn't leave the Abbot to his fate. While Rose wasn't as self-sacrificing as Sparrow was, she wasn't going to have such a kind man killed on her watch. So she had to find some way to save the Abbot, without getting herself killed in the process.

_Think Rose...how can I get in there without getting one of us killed...lightning? No, that's too risky, I might hit the Abbot instead. Rifle? Too confined a space. Sword? That man can probably take a couple hits without flinching. Damn it...is there nothing I can do?_

As Rose was trying desperately to think of a workable plan, she was distracted by the sound of someone sprinting up the path to the Temple. Turning her head, the young Hero saw a _massive_ woman running up the path, her red hair flowing behind her head, as a massive hammer was slung over her shoulder. That had to be the Abbot's daughter...the Hero of Strength. That could only mean that Sparrow was close behind...but if Sparrow just charged in the Temple behind the other Hero...that may make Lucien's man kill the Abbot.

And Rose knew very well that her sister wouldn't stop to think, and would just charge in blindly.

"Okay Rose...you can do this..." the older sister muttered to herself, raising herself up to point her rifle through the window.

Lucien's soldier was looking in the other direction, his gun held to the Abbot's head as the man's daughter threatened him with that massive hammer of her's.

"Come with me, or I'll kill 'im," the soldier said, his unnatural voice grating on Rose's ears.

"How about you let my father go before _I break you in half?!_" the other woman replied, anger in her voice that made Rose flinch.

Hearing the sound of more footsteps, that could only be Sparrow, approaching, Rose looked down the sights of her rifle, aiming directly for the soldier's head. Taking a deep breath, Rose fired. The bullet slammed into the man's head, sending him spinning to the ground...but also discharging his pistol as muscle spasms went through his dying body. The pistol's shell slammed into the Abbot's side, wounding the man and leading to a gasp of fear from his daughter, who had swung her hammer at the guard on reflex...thinking the first shot had been him.

Shaking slightly, Rose lowered her rifle as Sparrow ran up to her. Turning to look at her sister, Rose nearly had a heart attack. Sparrow was covered in cuts and bruises, and was walking with a limp. Petal seemed okay, thank Avo for that, but the younger Hero was hurt pretty badly. Upon spotting Rose though, a weary smile came to Sparrow's face. Walking up to her sister, Rose shakily brought a hand up to brush some bloody hair out of her face.

"Hey Rose...sorry for taking so lon..." Sparrow began, before grunting as Rose latched onto her in a tight hug, crying into her shoulder.

"What happened down there?" Rose got out somehow.

Sparrow patted her sister on the back, wincing slightly at the movement, "It's a long story. Is Hannah okay?"

"Hannah?"

Sparrow pointed at the Temple. Quickly remembering the Abbot being hit, Rose let go of her sister (albeit very reluctantly), and walking by her side into the Temple. The soldier was dead, the bullet and hammer blow leaving his body a bloody mess. Hannah for her part, was crying at her father's side. The tears were of grief...and relief at the same time. For while her father was bleeding and groaning in pain...he was at least alive.

Turning her head to look at the sisters walking into the Temple, Hannah gave them a weak smile before turning back to her father.

* * *

The next morning found a group of monks with a bandaged Sparrow and an exhausted Rose standing on a hill overlooking the ocean. Sitting in the ground between the group was the young Golden Oak, being watered by an injured Abbot. The man was weak, but still alive. Hannah stood by his side, looking out at the ocean, seemingly deep in thought. She still held the hammer from the previous day, holding it over her shoulder.

Sparrow and Rose wondered what that meant. Both had heard from Monks about their vow of pacifism, something they could never break and still remain a member of the Order. However...Hannah had broken it. It didn't matter that Lucien's soldier was already dead from Rose's bullet...the fact was, she had swung that hammer with the express purpose of killing the guard in revenge for shooting her father. That was likely what Hannah was thinking about...how she could go on, now that she couldn't possibly stay with the Order.

A flash of light brought attention away from the Oak however, though by that point it was just the Heroes and Abbot still on the hill. Appearing in the blue light was Theresa, who ignored everyone else in favor of walking up to Hannah.

"Hello Sister Hannah," the old Seer said.

"Who're you?" Hannah asked, not even turning her head from the Spire in the distance.

"I am Theresa, and I have come to ask for your help in stopping Lucien."

Sparrow and Rose shared a look at that. With everything that had been happening, neither of the two had been able to inform Hannah of _what_ she was. So the woman didn't know she was the latent Hero of Strength, her unusual abilities aside. Thus, Hannah turned around, a look of confusion on her face.

"Why would you need _my_ help? I'm just a useless monk, who can't even keep her vow," the redhead said bitterly.

"Hannah...I told you, you did what you had to," her father said, wearily getting to his feet and putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

That got a small smile out of the large woman, before she turned back to Theresa...expecting an answer to her question.

"You are the Hero of Strength," Theresa replied easily, before explaining Lucien's plan.

At the end of the explanation, Hannah turned out to the Spire again. Now that she knew what the structure was, it suddenly looked a lot less impressive, and a lot more foreboding. And it was where Lucien was. Hannah hadn't had a reason to hate Lucien before, just to pity him for losing his wife and daughter. Now? Well, she had many reasons to hate the man. He had tried to kill her new friend and her sister. He had sent someone who tried to kill her _father_. Could she stay behind, and risk her father and Oakfield again?

And could the latent Hero of Strength justify not fighting anymore? Her vow may say she shouldn't fight. And she had always stuck to that, no matter how much it bugged her. But now...now, she needed to fight. Lucien had to be stopped, before he hurt even more people. Who knew how many had already died, trying to put the Spire together? And Lucien would stop at nothing to get the Heroes he wanted.

So turning back to Theresa, Hannah nodded her head once, "I'll help. I'm sorry father."

The Abbot sighed softly, "I understand Hannah. Please be careful."

"Take my hand Sister Hannah, and I shall explain your role further," Theresa said, sticking her hand out.

Hannah looked down at the hand, before saying, "Call me Hammer."

The two women vanished, leaving just Sparrow and Rose on the hill with the weary Abbot.

* * *

**AN: There we go. Let me know what you think!  
**


	5. Old Memories

**AN: And here is the next chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it!  
**

* * *

**Oakfield**

* * *

With Hannah, or rather _Hammer_, gone there was little left for the Hero sisters in Oakfield. That being said, they needed some way to gather money if they were going to keep up this quest. While they didn't really _need_ to be filthy rich by any means, Sparrow and Rose did need to eat. And to eat, they needed money. Not to mention, they would need to buy a house (probably in this town since both sister's liked Oakfield) so they had somewhere to stay. While odd jobs, like working at the blacksmith could suffice, it was debatable if it would be enough. Another option was something that the younger sister had read in a book on the Heroes Guild.

During its height, the Guild had provided 'quests' for each Hero, that would net them money. Or the love of the people, but that depended a lot on the individual Hero and what they considered worth more. Naturally, money was more common. While the sisters lacked the advantage of a Guild offering quests, surely they could find _someone_ in this town who needed help...right?

"Any ideas Rose?" Sparrow asked, still walking with a slight limp from the Hollow Men fight.

The elder sister bit her lip, "Maybe. The pub might have someone who needs our help."

"Worth a shot."

Walking into the pub, the Hero sisters quickly found themselves the center of attention. Not every day that two heavily armed women, pretty ones at that, walked into a local pub. Sparrow's bandages didn't help matters, as it made things clear that these two knew how to fight. Ignoring the gossip surrounding them, the Hero sisters looked for anyone who looked like they had a job. Most people in the pub seemed to just be there for a pint, not actually looking for a worker.

However, there seemed to be one...oddly familiar...man at the top of a staircase who seemed like he needed help with something or other. Looking at each other, the sisters shrugged in unison before Rose walked up to the man. Muttering under his breath, the somewhat eccentric looking man didn't notice Rose until the older sister tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, the man's eyes lit up at the sight of Rose's weaponry.

"Excellent! You look like you can help me!" the man shouted eagerly, and made Rose recognize him as Barnum...the man with the picture-box.

"Help you with what sir?" the elder Hero asked.

"I have a plan you see...an investment if you will," Barnum said eagerly, "I want to repair the Rookridge Bridge and charge a toll to cross it. It's a perfect plan...except for the Bandits making it impossible to fix it. Do you think you could take care of the bandits?"

Rose looked down at Sparrow, who nodded up at her, before turning back to Barnum, "We'll do it."

"Most excellent! I will pay you in thanks!"

Rose would have left then...but something came to mind, "Do you still have that picture you took in Bowerstone?"

Barnum looked confused, and who could blame him. Presuming he even _remembered_ Rose and Sparrow, why would he still have the picture? More importantly, why would Rose ask for something so old? Frowning slightly, Barnum went to his room in the Inn and returned with a bag. Leafing through the contents of the satchel, the man muttered to himself again.

"Aha! Here you are miss," the man said, holding out his 'photograph'.

Rose nodded in thanks, and moved down the stairs to where her thoroughly confused sister stood. Sparrow was just as curious as Barnum as to why Rose would ask for that photo, and walked with her sister out of the pub. She would have asked right away why Rose retrieved the old photo, but she stayed respectfully silent as the older Hero looked at the photo with a fond look on her face.

Staring back up at Rose, the younger versions of her and her sister grinned at the camera. Rose was in what she had thought of at the time as a 'cute' pose, while Sparrow was standing in front of her, sword drawn and a fierce grin on her face. The older sister ran a hand along the smiling images, feeling her eyes get slightly wet. This was a poignant reminder of what they used to have. Struggle to survive or not, things were so much simpler back then.

Sparrow took her own look at the picture, and sighed, "I miss those days, even if I don't miss the hunger."

"I do too little Sparrow," Rose agreed, "so much simpler back then. Let's find a house...I want a safe place to put this."

Sparrow knew better than to argue with her sister on that. If they made a habit of leaping off bridges into dark, monster-infested caves, then keeping such a fragile picture on them would probably be a bad idea. So the two sisters combined their meager money supplies, and started looking for a cheap house. Thankfully, an old farmer was moving to live with his children and agreed to sell his farm for a relatively cheap price of two thousand gold. Still not as cheap as the sisters would prefer, but it was a nice house at least. And considering they had never owned a home of their own, it was definitely a welcome change.

"We'll have to come back here at some point to decorate it," Sparrow said, looking at the old furniture the previous owner had left behind.

"We do don't we?" Rose replied, "I'm looking forward to that Sparrow. We need something peaceful to do for a change don't we?"

"Yes...yes we do sis."

* * *

After placing the picture (and anything else the Heroes wanted to keep safe) in a locked chest, they left the house and set off towards Rookridge again. It was still rainy in the area, the storms refusing to move on. The contrast between the area and Oakfield was even more noticeable now that they were familiar with the latter town. The constant rain and gloomy clouds gave the area a distinctly unwelcoming tone, that they really hadn't noticed the first time. No wonder the bridge had fallen into disrepair...if it weren't for the Bower Road, who would _want_ to stay in Rookridge?

"Y'know, I don't remember it being this gloomy," Sparrow commented, rifle in hand as she walked down the road.

"Compared to Oakfield..." Rose began, sword drawn, "I certainly wouldn't want to live here."

At least there wasn't a Bandit ambush this time. In fact, the road was eerily quiet and deserted to be honest...there was almost no noise, aside from the patter of rain as it soaked the two Heroes. So as they walked forward, with Petal in the lead to sniff out any ambushes, it was almost like there were no problems along the Rookridge part of the Bower Road. At least until they came upon the Inn that bore the same name at any rate.

The Bridge was empty, no Bandits taunting travelers who couldn't jump off a bridge and survive. However, the lights were all on at the Inn, which could only be the case if the Bandits were partying inside it. No one in their right mind would stay at the Inn at the moment _other_ than the crooks anyway. And as the Heroes got closer to the structure, they could start to hear the sound of voices, confirming that the building was occupied at least.

Actually getting inside to hit the Bandits was something that wouldn't be easy though. A frontal assault _could_ work, but it meant the Bandits could escape out the back of the Inn thanks to the mine behind it. Not to mention the fact that Sparrow was still injured from her little trip down the Sacred Cave. Potions could work wonders, but right now the younger sister needed _rest_ more than anything else. Rose wasn't about to take her into a hostile building in her condition.

"Any plan's Rose?" the younger Hero asked, as they got near the Inn.

Rose bit her lip, knowing Sparrow wouldn't like what she was going to say, "I need you on the hill, watching the mine. I'll take the Inn myself."

"What?!"

"You aren't in any condition to go in there right now. And you forget my little Sparrow...I have Guard training. I can handle a few Bandits...but I need someone watching the exit, to keep any from escaping."

Sparrow was ready to argue, but Rose was already moving towards the building.

_Stupid self-sacrificing..._

If there was one major similarity between the sisters, it was their aversion to letting each other out of their sight for long. Especially when it involved going after known enemies. The idea of one of them dying was something neither of them wanted to think about. Still, Sparrow bit down on her protests...Rose went through the same thing when she went down into the cave (something that didn't help the younger Hero, considering what shape _she_ was when she came out of that cave). Climbing the hill, Sparrow lay down with her rifle aimed on the back entrance of the Inn. If this was all she could do, then by Avo she would do it perfectly.

As for Rose, she was upset that she had to do this to Sparrow. But she wasn't going to risk her sister, not again. Besides, she was telling the truth...surely a few, probably drunk, Bandits couldn't stop a Guard-trained Hero...right? She only hoped she wasn't getting overconfident...as she stopped in front of the Inn. Taking a deep breath, Rose plunged into the structure, lightning surrounding one hand, Lancer raised in the other.

There was indeed a group of Bandits in the Inn, on every floor. The ones on the ground floor stared at Rose, before shouting and jumping to their feet, drinks scattering everywhere.

_Come on Rose, you can do this!_

A flash of lightning came out of Rose's hand, arcing between several Bandits, leaving them shocked still, as their muscles tried to adjust to the high-voltage flowing through their bodies. They never had the chance, as Rose charged forward, Lancer cutting clean through the enemies bodies, leaving Bandit limbs and torsos flying in different directions. One of the Bandits who had avoided the lightning tried to sneak up on Rose, and stab her from behind. Rose didn't know how, but she..._felt_...the intent of the Bandit.

Spinning around, Lancer parried the iron blade of the Bandit, surprising the man and allowing Rose to deliver a lightning-filled punch to his jaw. The man went flying through a window, and didn't get back up. However, that left Rose exposed...as a bullet slammed into her shoulder from one of the Bandits on the upper level. Shouting in pain, Rose spun around and flung more lightning up at the next level. A Bandit fell down, a hole burned through his head.

Quickly downing one of the many potions she had taken to carrying, Rose began to run up the stairs. Another bullet slammed into the wood panel next to Rose's head, forcing her into a roll. When she came out of it, her rifle was up and firing. Another man fell down, a bullet hole where his heart used to be. Only one Bandit was left in the Inn, the man better dressed than any of the dead men littering the building.

"You killed all my men you bitch!" the man shouted, "You won't get me though. I'm not called 'Dash' for nothing!"

And with that, the man sped out the door, faster than anyone Rose had ever seen. But she hadn't even reached the door herself, before the crack of a rifle went off. Rose got to the door in time to see Dash's headless body fall to the ground, the head vanishing into the ever-present rain.

"Great shot Sparrow!"

* * *

With Dash dead, the two Heroes returned to Oakfield. While quite relieved to be out of the Rookridge rain, Sparrow was barely awake. Rose could tell her sister was exhausted, and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. Sparrow nodded in thanks, and the two walked to their new house. Rose guided Sparrow to a bed, and helped her sister down. Sparrow was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

_I don't know how she kept going so long_...

Smiling fondly at her little sister, Rose brushed some hair out of her face. Despite the bandages on her head, Sparrow looked so much more peaceful when she was asleep. More her age, something that hit Rose over the head every day since they had been reunited...only recently an adult, yet she had been through so much. Not that Rose had much to say in that regard, being barely into her twenties herself. Softly kissing her sister's forehead, Rose quietly left their new home.

While she was tired herself, she had to get back to Barnum and get the payment for this 'quest' of theirs. Preferably before the man left and became impossible to track down. Nodding at Oakfield citizens, the older Hero was about to walk into the pub, when she was waved down by another woman. Sighing slightly, Rose walked up to the slightly older woman. She seemed eager about something, though for the life of her, the Hero wasn't sure what.

"You're one of the Hero Sisters right?" the woman asked eagerly.

_Only one 'quest' and people already know about us?_ Rose couldn't help but wonder as she nodded.

"Can you do me a favor? I promise to pay you for it!"

"What do you need?"

The woman pointed at a large block of...marble? Sitting in front of the marble was a stool, and at the foot of the stone were tools. Rose wasn't sure what exactly the tools were for, but it seemed like this woman's job revolved around them. Curious now, Rose walked into the barn that seemed to serve as a workshop, as the woman walked in behind her.

"I'm a statue carver," the woman explained, "I was hoping you could model for one of my statues? I need inspiration to make truly unique masterpieces, and what better than a Hero eh?"

Rose smiled warmly at the woman's enthusiasm, before nodding and doing as she instructed. Picking a pose was a fun choice to make for once, as Rose wanted something that captured _her_ but wasn't boring. So she chose to draw Lancer and hold it in a guard position, like she was protecting Sparrow with it. The modeler made distinctly odd cooing noises, seemingly pleased with the pose. She told Rose to hold the pose, and not move an inch. While it was marginally tiring holding her longsword for that long a period of time, at least it was easy money.

After a few minutes, the woman told the Hero that she could get down. Thanking the Hero profusely, the woman told her the statue would be done and placed outside the barn in a few days. After receiving a couple thousand gold as payment, Rose nodded and left, her pockets jingling with the gold. That money would go a long way to fixing up her new home, and making life easier for her and Sparrow. And it wasn't the only potential money either, as she walked into the pub.

Heading straight to the top-floor this time, Rose saw Barnum still muttering about his latest plan. Tapping him on the shoulder, the man grinned at the much younger Hero.

"I knew you could do it! This is so amazinglyis wonderfulitis!" the man shouted.

Rose's eyebrow went into her hair at the butchery of the English language, but just nodded, "You're welcome."

Barnum didn't notice her expression as he continued, "Unfortunately, my deeds appear to be forgeries. Oh well, at least I don't have to rebuild the bridge! Here is your rewardification!"

Waving at the man as he left, Rose counted out her money. She had a little over six thousand gold now, between Barnum, the statue lady, and what she had saved from earlier. That much money would have given her a seizure of happiness when she was a kid, but now it was merely enough to stock their house and traveling bags with food, and buy some new furniture. Still, it was a start. Smiling at the sound of the money in her pockets, Rose walked back to the little farmhouse.

Sparrow was snoring once again, as Petal barked happily at Rose from the porch. The faithful dog had been making sure no one tried to enter the house, and Rose scratched his ear in thanks. Shutting and locking the door behind her, the elder sister walked into her shared room with Sparrow, and set her new money bag inside the same chest as the precious picture. Giving a small smile at the sight of said picture, she locked the chest and changed into her nightclothes.

Getting into her bed, Rose wrote down the days events in her trusty journal (_though_, she thought sarcastically, _I'll probably need a new one soon_). Setting the old book on the small desk next to her bed, Rose curled up in her covers, and was soon asleep, sunlight or no sunlight.

* * *

"No...no...NO! Anyone but Rose, please! Take me instead, don't hurt her again! PLEASE!"

Rose was startled awake by that shouting. Before she even realized what was going on, the new Hero was out of her bed, lightning coming to her fingers easily. The light from her fingers illuminated the now-dark room, showing Sparrow thrashing in her bed and moaning incomprehensible words. Petal was whimpering next to the bed, licking at Sparrow's sweat soaked hand to try and wake the younger hero sister up. Forcing the lightning back into her body with some difficulty, Rose ran to her sister's side.

Putting her hand in Sparrow's free hand, her other hand running through her sister's wet hair. Sparrow moaned in response, her hand gripping Rose's so tight that it made the older sister wince. Sparrow's moans turned into understandable words again, words that hit Rose right in the heart, her sister's voice sounding like a terrified child.

"I don't know what I did wrong...why are you hurting Rose? What did I do? Please, just tell me what I did wrong!"

Sparrow could only have been dreaming of that night in the tower of Castle Fairfax. She hadn't had a nightmare this bad since Rose had reunited with her...why now? Whispering soothing words, Rose shook her sister to try and wake her up. It worked...perhaps a bit too well. Sparrow's brown eyes snapped open, and a wave of Will energy flew off her body, sending Rose and Petal flying into the walls. Sparrow's body lurched upward, her chest rising and falling as she panted heavily.

Looking around wildly, the younger Hero realized she was in the Oakfield house...not Castle Fairfax. Putting a hand on the scar on her chest, she looked around when a groan came to her ears. Sparrow quickly realized the source of that groan...as she saw Rose picking herself up from the wall and giving Petal a Dog Elixir.

"Rose...I'm so sorry!" the younger sister shouted, trying to get to her feet, only to stumble and nearly fall to the floor.

"Wasn't your fault," Rose replied, helping her sister back into her bed, "what was that about?"

Sparrow looked down at her hands, being held by Rose as the older sister rubbed soothing circles into her palms. That dream...Sparrow hadn't had it since she had learned Rose was alive, so she didn't know why it chose now to come back. But before she had gone to Bowerstone...she had that dream nearly every night, for the last ten years. The Gypsies had even taken to having her sleep far from the camp, as her screams constantly woke everyone in the camp up at night, and frightened the children. Only Theresa really showed any level of care, and her idea of 'care' was a bit harsher than usual.

Thus, Sparrow had never really had someone to comfort her after one of her nightmares. That was probably why having Rose back made them go away, more than anything else. Having her sister here now, just whispering soothing words and holding her to her side tightly, worked wonders in calming her frantic breathing down.

"I was back in the Tower," Sparrow finally said, "I've had that dream ever since that night...I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Oh my little Sparrow," Rose said, hugging her sister close, "You don't have to apologize for a nightmare you know."

Sparrow leaned into the hug, trying to banish the nightmare from her head. Rose's comforting presence went far in that regard, and soon Sparrow was sleeping once more. For her part, Rose continued to run a hand through her sister's hair. After that scare, she wasn't going to let Sparrow go, at least not for this night. The two had slept together as children, mostly to ward off the cold of Bowerstone winters. So this was nothing new to Rose, and she figured it was for the better.

Sparrow would probably have another nightmare, and Rose didn't want her to go through that. She knew her sister could tell she was still there, as she snuggled closer into her side. And her being there would hopefully ward off the dreams, since Sparrow would know that Rose was there and wasn't leaving again. Leaning back to get more comfortable, Rose was soon asleep herself.

Both sisters would need the rest, as it was only a matter of time before they would have to resume their quest.

* * *

**AN: There we go. Let me know what you think. :)**


	6. Hero of Will

**AN: And next chapter arrives. We'll have our first really big change in here too. So I hope everyone enjoys it! :D  
**

* * *

**A Week Later**

* * *

"I'm almost upset we have to leave," Sparrow said, as she strapped her scabbard to her back.

"I know Sparrow," Rose agreed, tying her boots, "it was nice to just relax for a week here."

The Hero sisters had spent the last week on a sort of vacation in Oakfield, recovering from their first major task. While Theresa was likely unhappy with the delay, they needed it after the Hobbe Cave and Sacred Cave. Sparrow especially, as some of those Hollow Men wounds just seemed to refuse to heal properly, no matter what potion they tried. Now that the wounds _had_ healed though, the Heroes couldn't justify waiting in Oakfield any longer. The vacation (interspaced with jobs like the local blacksmith to keep a steady money supply) had been relaxing, but they had a Quest to do...Lucien got closer to finishing the Spire every day they delayed after all.

At least Sparrow hadn't had another nightmare. Rose had moved her bed closer to her sister's just in case, but she hadn't been woken up since that first night. That was a relief for both sisters. Sparrow because she was finally getting decent sleep, and Rose since she _never_ wanted to hear her sister like that again. Still though, the sisters weren't looking forward to heading back to the Guild. Rose because she still didn't like Theresa, and Sparrow because she wasn't quite sure how to treat her Mentor anymore.

Either way though, there wasn't a choice in the matter.

"Ready Rose?" Sparrow asked, holding her hand out...the Guild Seal clenched tightly within.

Rose nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be sister."

Sparrow smiled at that, as she pumped her power into the Guild Seal like Theresa had instructed her. The two Heroes, plus Petal, vanished in flash of blue light. They reappeared in the Chamber of Fate, where Theresa and Hammer were deep in discussion. Or Hammer was yelling at an impassive Theresa at any rate. The two women turned to look at the Hero sisters, with Hammer walking up and grasping Sparrow's arm.

"It's good to see you again Sparrow! What took ya so long?" the Hero of Strength asked.

"Recovering, resting, making money," Sparrow listed off, tapping her chin like she was deep in thought.

Hammer broke out laughing at that, before walking back over to Theresa with the sisters. The old seer was looking at a map, though neither sister was sure how she could actually _see_ what she was looking at. Nonetheless, the much older woman was able to trace the map quite easily, circling an area with her finger. Neither Rose nor Sparrow could see what the location was though, only that it was far from anywhere they had ever been before.

Theresa seemed highly interested in it though, considering the amount of focus she was placing on the map. Waiting for her to finish whatever she was doing, Rose decided to look at the dirty paintings decorating the walls of the Chamber. She hadn't really payed much attention to them last time, and Sparrow hadn't mentioned anything interesting about them either. But now that Rose actually _looked_ at the things, she noticed something odd about the dusty images. _All_ of them, with only a couple exceptions, showed the same person. A boy with brown hair, that turned into a man. The only ones that didn't show this man featured another man in a red cloak, a woman slaying a Balverine, and a young girl becoming a woman.

What was odd about that girl was...how scarily similar she appeared to the young Rose in the picture back at Heroe's Hold (Sparrow had decided to name their house). Pigtails, tattered red shirt, long skirt...the resemblance was uncanny. And the blindfold...she had to have been blinded at some point. As for the man, he resembled the girl enough that he could only be a close relative, a brother perhaps. The only real difference was brown hair as opposed to red hair.

Resolving to figure out who the people in the paintings were, Rose turned her attention back to Theresa. The woman was staring at her intently, having stopped looking at the map at some point while Rose was examining the paintings. Sparrow was even giving her a curious look.

"As I was saying," Theresa said, turning away from Rose, "the Hero of Will is a sorcerer from Samarkand named Garth. An expert in the Old Kingdom, Lucien worked with him for some time. I believe he was at Castle Fairfax the night Lucien attempted to kill you both, am I correct?"

Sparrow looked thoughtful, "I vaguely remember a man with odd blue lines on his face, yeah. I think the butler called him Garth. But why would he work with Lucien?"

Theresa smiled slightly at the fact that Sparrow remembered something so seemingly random, before saying, "It goes without saying that neither Garth nor Lucien knew who they were working with. Lucien had no idea Garth was the Hero of Will, and merely believed he was a scholar with an unusual amount of knowledge of the Old Kingdom. For his part, Garth knew nothing of what Lucien's plans were and just thought he was a fellow scholar. When they found out the truth, the result was...explosive."

If Rose and Sparrow didn't know better, they would think Theresa had just cracked a joke. But they knew she was likely being deadly serious. After all, the two of them could do some fairly impressive things with their own Will abilities, and if Hammer was any indication of what a Hero of a single area could do...they wouldn't be a touch on what Garth could likely do. The fact that Lucien was even still _alive_ was probably only due to the paranoia that had lead to the man trying to kill two little girls.

Turning back to Theresa, the two Heroes payed attention as she continued her explanation. Pointing at the map, Theresa indicated an outlined area, north of Bowerstone.

"Brightwood is where Garth is now," the seer said, "in Brightwood Tower to be precise, proceeding in his own plan to stop Lucien. I do not know how long it will be until Lucien discovers where he is, so it is important you reach him as soon as possible. If Lucien captures Garth, all our plans will be for naught."

Considering that Will was perhaps the most powerful of the Hero arts, the sisters could see the point. They began to move towards the Cullis Gate, only for Hammer to try and follow.

"Hey, wait up you two! You'll need my help!" the large woman said, picking her hammer from where she had left it.

"No, stay here Hammer," Theresa said, "we can not risk you too. Lucien knows nothing of the Guild, and you are safer here."

With no real choice in the matter, Hammer dropped her weapon and moved back to the center of the room. Sparrow and Rose shared a look, somewhat frightened at how easy Theresa had cowed the massive woman. Shaking their heads in unison, the sisters stepped through the Cullis Gate...heading for Brightwood.

* * *

When the blue light faded, the Heroes found themselves standing in a dark wood, night having fallen in Albion. The woods were beautiful under the starlight, old trees growing along the path, branches spreading in every direction. Beautiful it may have been though, Brightwood also had a foreboding air to it. Something was wrong, that much was clear. The sisters just weren't sure _what_ was up. But that didn't mean they weren't worried either.

Had Lucien already found Garth?

"Rose, I have a _really_ bad feeling about this," Sparrow said, running down the path.

"Hurry Sparrow!" Rose replied, as the Heroes sprinted as fast as their legs could carry them.

As they reached a large gate, Sparrow flung it open, not slowing down in the slightest. The sisters came to a halt though, when they saw Brightwood Tower in the distance. The structure was imposing in-of-itself to be fair, but that wasn't what drew their attention. A large structure _flew through the air_, its gray hulk shaped like a spinning top that they had seen children play with. The flying...thing...spun through the air, before coming to a halt in the courtyard of the tower.

As it stopped spinning, the object began to spew lightning from the corners of its square top. The lightning gathered on the ground, forming a circle not unlike the circle of a Cullis Gate. The light grew brighter and brighter, to the point that Rose had to cover her eyes, while Sparrow watched wide-eyed. For out of the circle, appeared a group of men, dressed in old-style Guard uniforms. The men had odd collars on their necks, and wielded top of the line swords and rifles...arguably better than any weapons that the Heroes had come across, aside from their unique swords.

Now that the light had faded though, Rose was able to uncover her eyes...and she gasped when she got a good look at the soldiers. They were the same as the man who had tried to kill the Abbot. These could only be members of Lucien's Army!

"Sparrow, Lucien must have found Garth!" the older Hero shouted.

"Damn it," Sparrow cursed, before charging at the soldiers, "come on Rose, we have to get there before Garth is captured!"

"But what about the flying thing?!"

"Avoid it!"

Rose glared at her sister's back, before pulling out her rifle and firing on the first of Lucien's men. The man took the bullet in his chest...and didn't fall down. Instead, he jumped at Sparrow, forcing the younger sister to duck into a roll, before bringing Griever through the soldiers back. The man fell down for good, the collar around his neck shocking the corpse.

_What? Why would the collar do that? _Rose wondered, as she shot another soldier, this time going for a head-shot that managed to bring him down in one blow.

Putting her rifle up, Rose ran up next to Sparrow, who was in the thick of the fighting. The younger Hero was practically dancing amongst the soldiers, her lithe body spinning around, as Griever left a flaming trail in the dark. The soldiers were no slouches however, their own blades parrying any blow Sparrow sent at them. It was a stalemate of the worst kind, as the soldiers started to surround the younger Hero. They couldn't hit Sparrow, but if they could surround her...

Rose wouldn't let that happen. She jumped up, Lancer flashing in the night. A solider didn't see the silver blade until it cleaved his head in two, the body crumbling to the ground as Rose rolled to stand next to her sister. The two Heroes moved as one, attacking the soldiers in unison. If a man blocked Griever, he would find Lancer cutting through his arm, and if he blocked Lancer he would find a fireball burning through his face.

"About time you got here sis!" Sparrow shouted, ducking under a powerful swing from one of the men, Griever plunging into his stomach, the thick uniform proving little protection.

Rose didn't reply, as she cut down one of the soldiers. Working together, the sisters were nearly unstoppable, even for Lucien's soldiers. The last of the men finally fell, both Hero swords embedded in his chest. Pulling out their weapons, the two Heroes looked up at the imposing tower, the flying object floating around it, though it had stopped transporting soldiers at least. Keeping their weapons drawn, Rose and Sparrow ran up the stairs to the entrance of the tower, killing a small group of lingering soldiers...fighting alone, the men weren't as much of a threat, especially not to two Heroes.

But as they ran up the stairs, the sisters could smell smoke. Unless Garth was trying to use fire on something, that could only mean one thing...they were too late. Something confirmed, as the pair reached the end of the staircase. A chest was on fire, blocking the way further up. Sparrow, slightly taller than Rose, was able to see over the burning furniture. She could see Garth standing on a balcony, glowing blades of Will energy floating around his head. A man dressed in black with what looked like...pieces of _metal_...sticking out of his head stood in the room, pointing a sword at Garth.

"Give up Garth, Lord Lucien requests your presence at the Spire," the man said, an unnaturally deep voice coming out of his mouth.

Garth scoffed at the man, "I will never go back to that abomination! And you can't force me, you failed experiment."

The man laughed, the sound cruel and dark, "'Failed experiment'? You left too soon Garth, Lord Lucien succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. You will come with me, whether you want to or not!"

"Never!" Garth replied, holding his hands out, ready to attack the dark man.

"So be it."

As a stunned Sparrow looked on in horror, lightning flew from the dark man's hands, easily overpowering Garth. The Hero of Will...overpowered by what could only be magic of some sort. That alone would have been terrifying enough, but then Garth and the man were teleported into that flying device, leaving the Tower empty aside from Rose, Sparrow, Petal, and the burning furniture. Falling backward, Sparrow sat down heavily on the staircase, Rose sitting next to her while Petal whimpered.

They were too late...Garth was captured, and was being taken to the Tattered Spire even now. What were they going to do now? Hero or no Hero...what could just two young women do to an entire army? The Spire might as well have been the moon, how were they going to get inside to rescue Garth? And even if they could pull _that_ off, what about that man? If he could overpower Garth in a contest of Will, he would have no problem stopping the still amateur Hero Sisters.

"What are we going to do now Rose?" Sparrow asked, wearily setting Griever down.

"I don't know Sparrow," Rose replied, "I don't know."

As the Heroes sat near the burning furniture, something came to Rose's mind. Another burning image...one of the paintings in the Chamber of Fate. And that reminded her that she was trying to figure out who the people in the images were, and why she felt a strange familiarity with them. Why did this come to her _now_, after just watching Garth be kidnapped? Rose remembered Theresa mentioning that Garth was a scholar. Specializing in the Old Kingdom, maybe, but if anyone in Albion would have materials on the Hero's Guild, it would be him.

Getting to her feet, Rose used Lancer to push the burning debris out her way, and climbed into Garth's study. Sparrow followed curiously, wondering what her sister was looking for. The confusion got bigger, when she saw Rose walk over to a bookcase, looking through the many, and varied, tomes contained within. The older sibling was muttering under her breath, looking for anything she could find on Heroes. After looking for what felt like an eternity, she finally came across a book that looked promising.

"'Hero of Oakvale, the True Story'?" Sparrow asked, upon seeing the title of the book.

Rose nodded, "You saw those paintings back at the Guild right?"

Sparrow nodded herself, "Yeah, but I didn't think anything of them...why?"

"All of them, or at least most of them, showed the same man. The Hero of Oakvale is the most famous of the old Heroes, so it had to be him. I'm wondering about one of the other ones though...did you see the one with the girl?"

Sparrow nodded again...before the memory hit her over the head. The girl in the painting hadn't looked _overly_ familiar, being several hundred years old and all. But now that Rose mentioned it...the girl had looked amazingly similar to her sister. So much so, that Sparrow wondered if they were related somehow. Suddenly she understood why Rose was looking through this old book. She wanted to know who that girl was now too.

So Sparrow leaned over her elder sister's shoulder as she leafed through the ancient book, looking for anything about the Hero's family. Surely there was something to work with right? After all, if the Hero had a family, it only made sense that said family would be included in any story about him. Someone that famous would transfer that fame over to anyone in his family, unless all records really _had_ vanished with the Guild (Sparrow remembered finding a book that said as much back in the Old Tomb, but it was possible the book was wrong, hence the 'True Story' in this one's title).

"Aha, I found something!" Rose shouted triumphantly, _"The Hero of Oakvale is famous for more than his exploits in defeating Jack of Blades and saving Albion. While information on his family is scarce, and most is believed to have been lost with the destruction of the Hero's Guild, I have found some surviving records of the time. There is very little on his father, but the Hero's mother, on the other hand, is nearly as famous in her own right. Arena Champion and famous Balverine slayer, Scarlet Robe. Records on her later life are just as scarce, but it is believed she married the Hero's father in Oakvale, and settled down until the infamous Bandit attack that destroyed that quaint little town for the first time."_

Sparrow looked confused, "So that woman was this 'Scarlet Robe'?"

Rose shook her head, "Can't be. There was another painting with a woman in red slaying a Balverine...that must have been Scarlet."

The mystery deepened...if the girl wasn't the Hero's Mother, who was it? It was becoming increasingly obvious that the paintings in the Chamber chronicled the life of the Hero of Oakvale. The man in red had to be Jack of Blades, still infamous even this far from his death. That would make the man in a Guild uniform the Hero of Oakvale, and the Balverine killer his mother. But it didn't answer the question on who the Rose look-alike was. She was obviously related to the Hero in some way...but how, and who was she?

And why did the answer seem so important to the sisters? Whoever she was, the girl had to have been dead for something like 500 years, so it _shouldn't_ realistically matter that much. After all, what good did a long-dead woman do their Quest, even if she might be related to them, judging from the resemblance to Rose? And yet, it was more than just idle curiosity driving the siblings now. They felt like they were on the verge of solving some huge mystery, and they wanted the answer badly.

So Rose continued to leaf through the old book, looking for any more mentions of the Hero of Oakvale's family. The book was vague on the subject, but after reading a bit further, the older sister seemed to come across something promising.

_"As previously stated, the records of the Hero's family were mostly lost in the Burning of the Guild, a tragedy in-of-itself, though beyond the scope of this history. However, some records have survived. The records of the Hero's mother for instance, referred to in the previous section. While even I have been unable to find records of the Hero's children, if indeed he had any children, I did come across something interesting. In records of the Hero of Oakvale's earliest quests, I found a mention of him clearing out a Bandit camp near his hometown, recently rebuilt from its ruins. Ruled over by a former Hero named Twinblade, this camp held something far more dear to the Hero, if the records are correct._

_Twinblade was famous amongst Bandits. His strength and abilities for one, something that had placed him in the mid-tier of Heroes at the time. But what was far more famous was his unusual ability to predict what rival Bandit gangs were planning, and turning ambushes or raids against his many enemies. Some thought he had an extensive spy network, bribing other Bandits to do his bidding. The Guild records dispute this claim however. For I have found evidence that Twinblade's successes have to do with a single young girl, a blind seer who could predict events with startling accuracy. When the Hero of Oakvale attacked the Bandit leader, this girl intervened. According to the records, the girl was the Hero's sister, believed dead along with his mother and father (though Scarlet Robe had also survived the attack on Oakvale). The girl, the blind seer of Twinblade, was named..."_

Rose suddenly stopped narrating the book, dropping it from shaking hands. Sparrow looked at her sister, concern in her eyes. Seeing that whatever was in that book had done _something_ to Rose, the younger sister picked it up and continued reading from where she had left off. Only to drop the book herself, before collapsing into the nearest chair, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Theresa..."

The book had included a painting, and now that she had seen it, Sparrow could see the resemblance. Her mentor, despite the aged quality to her voice, didn't really _look_ overly old. And while the girl in the book was obviously a young adult, if not a teenager, she was just as obviously the same woman. It seemed impossible...Theresa would have to be several centuries old. Even the Hero of Oakvale, arguably the most powerful of the Heroes, had died of old age supposedly. How could his sister still be alive?

Tossing in the seer abilities just made it even more likely that this Theresa, and _her_ Theresa, were one and the same. Both blind, both seers, both named Theresa...it didn't seem possible, but it had to be true. And with the resemblance that her mentor bore to her sister...were they related, however distantly, to the old seer?

Was she their aunt? Five-hundred year old Great-Aunt (Sparrow wasn't inclined to figure out how many generations that was), but still Aunt. It would explain why she showed genuine, if limited, concern for Sparrow at any rate. It also explained why Rose was shaking. She still strongly disliked Theresa, even if she no longer hated her. To find out that they were likely related...it probably wasn't fun for her.

"Sparrow," Rose finally said, shaking out of her stupor, "It's time we found out who Theresa really is."

The younger sister nodded, "Yes it is. I don't think I can ever look at her the same again, especially if she _is_ the same person as the one in the book."

The mysterious seer would have to answer their questions now, because Sparrow knew Rose wouldn't let up until she was satisfied. So grabbing the Guild Seal and the book, the two sisters vanished in a flash of blue light...determined to get their answers.

* * *

**AN: Canonically, Theresa obviously never cared to tell Sparrow of their relation. Nor did she dig deep enough to notice it either. In this case, Rose is a bit more attentive than her sister is and noticed the resemblance between young her (picture helps there) and young Theresa. I hope the change works! :D**


	7. Trolls and Diaries

**AN: Midnight is Tuesday right? :P  
**

**As to why I'm posting this so early (in more ways than one eh?)...I'm moving up the time schedule a bit. For the first time in all my fanfics, though that's not really saying much...I have a rather large surplus of written chapters. How many? I'm currently working on chapter _19_, the first of the Bloodstone Arc. I'm expecting maybe five or six more to finish the story from that point, depending on my muse. So I'm very darn near done with writing the fic, if not posting it.**

**Which is what I meant by 'moving up the time schedule'. Currently, the story would be done posting in October or so, if I stick to once a week postings. All fine and dandy really, especially compared to my coming up on two years old "A Change of Fate". But...I'll be back in school in August, which might curtail my typing and posting time somewhat. Thus...**

**I am moving to twice-weekly postings, at the least. Tuesday and Friday to be specific..._unless_...readers are okay with daily posts. Either works for me, considering the surplus of chapters I have. Either way I won't post again until Friday, that way readers can get their voice heard. So please, review and let me know what you prefer! :D**

* * *

**Hero's Guild**

* * *

Theresa looked up as the Cullis Gate of the Chamber of Fate flared to life. She had been slightly concerned at how long it was taking the Hero sisters to return, as it could only mean Garth was captured. Her abilities of foresight were immense, but even she couldn't follow the Heroes everywhere they went, so thus, the slight concern that _they_ had been captured too, or else had gone charging after whomever captured Garth. Yet when the two stepped through the Gate, neither showed any signs of wounds, merely soot on their clothing.

Theresa was about to suggest their little group begin planning on how to rescue Garth (when Hammer returned from her explorations of the Old Tomb of course). But she was interrupted, as Rose stomped forward and slammed an old book down on the table, Sparrow following at a more leisurely pace. Theresa couldn't 'see' in the strictest sense, but she did have abilities that mimicked human sight very well. Thus, she was perfectly able to recognize the look of anger on Rose's face, and the look of betrayal on Sparrows. Recognizing _why_ they wore those expressions was another story naturally.

"Care to explain Theresa?" Rose asked, bringing a hand down on the book.

Theresa's eyebrow went up, as she took the tome from Rose. Opening the book, the old Seer found a single page with its corner folded down. Reading the page, the seer was slightly unnerved. She had thought all records of her existence had long-since been destroyed...leave it to Garth to have found what might be the last surviving record. What was worse was the image included in the book...and the corresponding painting on the wall of this very chamber. One where she closely resembled a young Rose.

It explained the anger in both sisters, and the betrayal in Sparrow. They had obviously made the (correct) assumption that they were related to her. Young Rose's survival was altering every prophecy Theresa had seen...she had never intended to tell Sparrow of their relation. She hadn't viewed it as needed...the only members of her family that the old seer had ever loved or even felt attached to were her long dead brother, father, and mother. Her brother's descendants had never even caught her attention until now...and neither of these sisters would know much of anything of their ancestor.

"It is true," she finally said, her voice as cold as ever.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Sparrow asked, moving in front of her sister, "ten years, and I had family right by my side? Do you have any idea what Rose and I would have done to have an adult family member, no matter how distantly related?"

"We would have given _anything_," Rose confirmed, "you could have taken us off the streets at any time. Train us to be Heroes still if you had to, but leaving us there? How could you be so cruel to your _own family_?"

Theresa's eyes turned to Rose, as her voice cooled even further (if that were possible), "You are only my family by blood. My brother's descendants mattered little to me, until I learned of Lucien's plans."

The coldness in the ancient seer's voice made both Rose and Sparrow flinch (the latter more-so than the former). Theresa had never been particularly warm or nice, but this was taking it to a new level. She had been alive for 500 or more years, and only bothered to track down her brother's side of the family when it became necessary due to Lucien? That wasn't just cold...that was borderline cruel. Especially when one thought that Theresa could have just plucked them both off Bowerstone's streets that horrible day.

Why had she not done so? Who knew, but that didn't make it any better. They had been left alone, despite having living family. They honestly did not understand why Theresa could be so cruel. It was actually bringing Sparrow to tears, considering she had considered herself close to Theresa anyway...but it could have been so much more, if the blind seer had just let it.

"Theresa," Sparrow said, her voice shaking, "_Aunt_ Theresa...would it have been so bad to have helped us? I know what you just said...and I don't doubt you believe every word of it. But...family is more important than anything. I would do _anything_ for Rose, and I think you would have done the same for your brother. So why not help _us_?"

Surprisingly, Theresa's features softened ever so slightly at the 'Aunt' added to her name, "Would you have believed me had I told you of our relation?"

Rose was about to open her mouth, only to be silenced by a single raised hand from the seer.

"You barely believed what I had to say about the music box. Would you have trusted me enough to believe that we were related? Even if I just claimed to be the sister of your mother or father."

Rose and Sparrow looked at each other, before sighing in unison. They likely wouldn't have believed Theresa. Ironically, precisely for the reason they had been angry at her in the first place...if she had told them of their relation (even if lying somewhat in saying they were closer than they actually _were_), they wouldn't have trusted her because of the simple fact that they hadn't been taken off the streets sooner. That, and the fact that even now she wasn't the easiest person to trust or even talk to.

Logic aside, it didn't make them any happier with her though, if only because she hadn't tried or told them _after_ they had become Heroes. Now that they knew they were related though...did it really change anything? Sure, they were related, but that didn't mean Theresa could help them anymore than she already was. Or that they could 'move in with her and live as a family'. From a practical standpoint, little changed. From a _relationship_ standpoint though...now it wasn't just Sparrow and Rose in the family. They had an Aunt, albeit one so far up that they can't tell how many greats go in front of the Aunt.

"Well, at least now we know," Sparrow finally said, "it is nice to have another member of the family...even if they are a cold fish."

Rose snorted, while Theresa cracked a very slight smile, "Indeed. Now, I believe you have something to tell me about Garth?"

While the sisters would like nothing more than to hear stories of their family, or in Sparrows case to bond with Theresa, they did have a mission to do. And right now, that had more importance than family matters...however much they may have wished otherwise. So they told the old Seer of what had happened at the Tower. She seemed slightly disturbed when told of the flying object, something that Theresa informed them was called a 'Shard'.

The fact that Lucien had enough control of the Spire to control things built by and _for_ the Archon of the Old Kingdom was rather terrifying. Lord Fairfax was most certainly not a member of the Archon's bloodline...for him to have control of the Spire's creations was a very worrying development indeed. It would mean he had found some way to control the structure without the need of Hero's blood.

"So Garth has been taken to the Spire," Theresa said once they had finished discussing the situation, "I am afraid I don't know how to enter the Spire. I may know of someone who does however."

"Who?" Rose asked.

Theresa pointed at Bowerstone on the map, "Lucien's butler, Jeeves, likely had access to materials Lucien himself wouldn't want seen. If anyone would know of a way into the Spire, it would be him. He is currently in the pub in Bowerstone Market."

"Well, we had better find him then," Rose said, "come on Sparrow."

The younger sister moved to follow her sibling, before turning back to Theresa, "We are going to get to know each other better Theresa. Even if you don't consider yourself as part of our family, _I_ do."

And with that, the two Heroes were on their way to Bowerstone.

* * *

When they reached the market, the sisters found themselves besieged by Bowerstone citizens. Sparrow was somewhat used to this thanks to her earlier killing of Thag, but Rose was a bit overwhelmed by the attention...Oakfield was one thing, but as the tales of the Hero Sisters spread further and further afield, more people began talking of them. And there were a _lot_ of people in Bowerstone, especially the market district. Rose could be forgiven for being a bit overwhelmed by it all.

"You okay there Rose?" a guard asked, recognizing the woman from her former job.

"I'm fine," Rose replied, "just a bit overwhelmed...how long have they been like this?"

The Guard looked out at the gossiping masses, "Talking 'bout you and your sister? Ever since the Rookridge Bridge was repaired. Me and the mates have been getting a lot of questions these days once they figured out you were a Guard."

Rose smiled at that, as she waved goodbye to her old comrade. It somehow didn't surprise her that they were getting attention now that traders could go to Oakfield and back again. The sisters were famous enough in Oakfield, especially once the Abbot had honored them for helping the town. Electing to ignore the gossip (and Bard Obvious as Sparrow still called Roland), the sisters made a straight beeline to the pub. They didn't have the money to spare to go to a shop, and they really didn't have _time_ either, considering who knew what Lucien was doing to Garth at that very moment.

So they walked right past everyone in the pub who were trying to get autographs or congratulate the Heroes on their hard work. It was nice to get the recognition, but they just didn't have the time at the moment. Thankfully, Jeeves was easy enough to find. Easy to find, but not easy to look at. The man was muttering under his breath, and in a far more creepy manner than the somewhat eccentric way Barnum did.

"I wonder what I'll do with the money...buy a new house maybe?" the man said, before he acknowledged the Heroes, "You aren't the first ones to come to me you know. Everyone wants to know Lucien's dirty little secrets you know, and they all know that _I_ know them. But you aren't going to get it for free. Here is my price, and don't think of bringing that note to someone else, I'll know if you did!"

Rose and Sparrow shared a look...Jeeves seemed distinctly unhinged. That, and his note was barely legible. For a high-class butler, the man couldn't spell to save his life. But his price...a thousand gold pieces wouldn't be easy to gather. To be fair, Rose still had about that amount on her from their stores back in Oakfield. But spending all their gold at once wasn't something they wanted to do. No choice though.

"Okay, here is your money," Rose said, reluctantly handing over the gold.

Jeeves had a greedy look in his eyes as he took the shiny coins, "Wonderful! I wrote down the location where I buried Lucien's diary. Here you go...I have some money to spend!"

Trying to not think about what had made the butler like this, the two sisters read the note after he had left. The 'Hill named after Heroes' was obviously Hero Hill. Finding the stumps shouldn't be that hard, knowing that.

"Well Sparrow, I wonder what that diary says," Rose said, as they left to return to the Guild.

"I'm not sure I want to know Rose," Sparrow replied, "I don't know what could drive a man to do what Lucien did...but the book probably explains."

With that charming thought in their heads, the Heroes used the Guild Seal to return to Hero Hill.

* * *

It was dark when they arrived, the structure as imposing as ever. Walking down the winding path, the sisters split up to look for this set of stumps. Rose went on her own, while Sparrow had Petal with her. It would cover more ground this way, hopefully finding the diary sooner rather than later. The area they had to explore was rather large though, and the darkness did little to help. Sparrow had little luck on her side of the hill, finding nothing but fully grown trees and old ruins.

Rose on the other hand, found a set of three stumps rather quickly. She moved towards it, hefting the shovel that had replaced her sword for this little jaunt. But as the older sister got closer to the stumps, an ominous quaking began to propagate through the ground. Rose stumbled, as Sparrow yelled in the distance, asking what was going on. The elder Hero had no answer, as the shaking grew worse, and worse, the closer she came to the stumps where the journal was supposedly buried.

_What the 'ell is going on? _Rose wondered, barely able to maintain her footing.

That turned out to be the least of her worries, as the ground at the center of the stumps _lifted up_. Underneath the dirt and grass was...a monster. There was no other way to describe the beast. It was massive, with beady eyes, glowing red in the night as it flexed muscles made out of the surrounding ground. As Rose dropped her shovel and drew her rifle, the creature roared at her, the sound enough to send Rose rolling away from the monster.

"Rose!" Sparrow shouted, hearing the roar.

"Hurry up Sparrow, I need help here!" Rose shouted back, rolling to the side as the Troll (for what else _could_ it be?) threw a boulder at the young Hero.

The troll roared again, throwing another boulder at Rose. The elder Hero dodged to the side, firing her rifle on reflex. The troll roared in pain this time, as the bullet hit a red spot on its arm. Rose smiled grimly at that, realizing she must have found a weak point. However, it would take more than one lucky shot to bring the troll down. The monster brought its arms down, sending a wave of earth at the Hero. Rose was knocked off her feet, grunting in pain as her leg was punctured by a sharp piece of rock jutting out of the ground.

Rolling to her feet, Rose felt the wind of another piece of rock sailing over her head, sending her hair out of its ponytail and into her face. Pushing the brown locks aside, the young Hero winced as she put weight on her leg, and fired another bullet at the troll. This one merely embedded itself into the beast's thick hide, proving to be nothing more than a mosquito bite on the massive monster. The troll laughed at Rose, as it sent out another wave of rock. Jumping over the wave, Rose cursed under her breath when she landed and nearly went tumbling. Firing a bolt of lightning at the troll, she was rewarded with another roar of pain as the bolt flew between several of the red spots, popping two of them.

The troll punched at Rose, who had thought she was out of its range. The blow shattered her rifle, and sent the young Hero flying back. Stumbling back to her feet, Rose realized she had no weapon left that could hurt the troll, other than her Will. And she needed focus to do that.

"Duck!"

Falling to her knees, Rose saw a dark shadow fly over her head, as Sparrow charged into the fray, flames licking her arms. A massive ball of fire flew from the younger Hero, hitting the troll's head. The moss and grass crowning the monstrous creature caught fire, causing the troll to roar in agony, as it tried to put the fire out. Sparrow didn't give it the chance, drawing her own rifle and shooting out any red spots she could see. As the last spot popped, the troll let out one final roar, before sinking back into the ground.

Wearily getting back to her feet, Rose found her sister right next to her, putting her arm on her shoulder. Rose smiled gratefully, as her injured leg still protested movement. The two sisters slowly moved to where the troll had been...and found nothing. The creature was either dead, or just retreated to recover. Either way, they weren't going to wait for it to return (if it could). Sparrow helped her sister sit down, giving her a potion from their shared stock before recovering the discarded shovel.

As Rose recovered from the fight, Sparrow (with help from Petal) found the diary. The book was dirty, but the interior pages seemed okay. Not that Sparrow could make heads or tails of _what_ the pages said. Lucien wrote in some language that she had never seen, so it provided very little to help her.

With the book in hand, the two Heroes climbed back up Hero Hill, returning to the Chamber of Fate. Theresa and Hammer were both there to greet them, the latter looking worried when she saw how disheveled Rose was. Though Sparrow could have sworn she saw Theresa's face tighten slightly too...though maybe she was just imagining things.

"Did you find the diary?" Theresa asked.

Sparrow nodded, handing the book to her ancestor. Theresa opened the old diary, looking fairly interested as she read what was contained inside.

"You can read that? But I thought...your eyes..." Hammer said, looking fairly confused.

"I can see different worlds," Theresa replied cryptically, leading to a sigh from Rose.

After reading part of the book, the old seer seemed satisfied by something. She shut the diary, and turned back to the group of Heroes. She gestured at the book, before starting to explain the next part of their quest.

"It appears that Lucien recruits his guards for the Spire from winners of the Crucible in Westcliff. I believe one of you shall have to win the Crucible, join Lucien's Army, and rescue Garth from within the Spire."

"That's insane!" Rose protested, the very _idea_ of doing something so risky rubbing her the wrong way.

Sparrow put a hand on her sister's shoulder, "We'll do it. Just give us directions to Westcliff."

Theresa smiled tightly, before giving a map to Hammer, who actually was coming along this time. With the map in hand, the Heroes left on their quest to rescue Garth...little knowing what this would do to all of them.

* * *

**AN: And there we go. I apologize if Theresa is a bit OOC, but the situation I threw her in was a bit from the norm anyway. I'm doing my best to keep everyone in character, but the occasional slip-up is possible. ;)**

**And remember, let your voice be heard on the new posting schedule!  
**


	8. Bandit Coast

**AN: Turns out I'm sticking with once a week. My beta reminded me that he burned himself out working with two updates per week, and I don't want that to happen here.  
**

**Still though, I hope everyone enjoys the chapter! :D**

* * *

**Bandit Coast**

* * *

After buying Rose a new rifle (and wondering how many other new weapons they would have to buy before the quest was over) the three Heroes found themselves at the boundary line between Brightwood, a fairly safe location when Lucien wasn't attacking it, and the Bandit Coast. The name wasn't misleading either...the coast was overrun with the crooks, the number of them enough that even the Albion Guards were very leery of even attempting to clear the area around Brightwood, leave alone push to Westcliff. Rose should know, being as she was a Guard for years and all.

Thus, she could be forgiven for looking at the path with more than a little trepidation. Sparrow and Hammer were all ready to go, but Rose was hesitating...not liking the idea of just three women (and a dog) fighting through hordes of Bandits. Regardless of the fact they were Heroes or not, the idea still seemed more than a little ludicrous to her. But it wasn't as if they had any choice in the matter. The only other way to Westcliff was by sea...and where Lucien didn't have ships patrolling, pirates roamed.

Not to mention that only Theresa had the slightest idea of how to _use_ a ship of course...

"Come on Rose, we have to go!" Sparrow called out, holding Griever at the ready in case of ambushes.

"I know," the elder sister replied.

Hammer stood further ahead than the other two women, her namesake weapon slung over her shoulder as she scanned the forest, "You two ready for this? They don't call it Bandit Coast for nothin you know."

"Trust me I know..." Rose muttered under her breath, something that was rewarded with a giggle from Sparrow.

Hammer either didn't hear or ignored Rose, as she hefted her weapon and started walking into the dark woods, "Well, here we go then."

The three Heroes walked into the dark path, the welcoming trees turning into oppressive sentinels, branches spread over the path. While the area was supposedly beautiful during the day, at night it was a different story. The road split off into varying side-paths, the dark shadows from the trees making it nearly impossible to see down these paths. Needless to say, Rose wasn't the only one thoroughly creeped out any more.

Sparrow lit a fireball in her hand to provide some much-needed illumination, the combination of the Will spell and the Flame Augment in her sword providing enough light to see down the road at least. As the Heroes walked down the path, they heard nothing but the howl of wind, as the trees funneled the air down the path. Rose brushed her hair out of her face, before cursing softly.

While all the Heroes could _hear_ was wind, they could certainly see other things. Such as the sight of fire that wasn't coming from the youngest of the group. That could only be a bandit, as no one else would be along this stretch of coast. Sparrow quickly extinguished her Will-fueled torch, but not quickly enough, and in any case, Griever remained alight, nothing able to put out a Flame Augment.

"Oi, who's out there! That you Jammy?" a male voice called out, a torch moving down the path, "why'd you put out the light you sod! I can't see that far with just my lantern!"

The Heroes moved off the path, as the Bandit wandered along. Rose and Sparrow had their guns trained on the man, as Hammer moved behind him. For such a large woman, she could be surprisingly quiet and stealthy when she chose to. Such as now...the Bandit never saw the hammer coming down on his head, as the man fell to the ground with a bloody mess atop his shoulders.

"He can't be the only one," Hammer commented, as the group appropriated the man's torch (relit by Sparrow) and continued down the path.

This was confirmed, as more lights came into view, along with the sound of partying Bandits.

"How are we getting past them?" Rose asked, always the most strategically thinking.

"The old fashioned way?" Sparrow suggested, as fire licked her arms.

"Works for me," Hammer agreed, rushing forward with her weapon in hand.

Rose sighed at her impulsive companions, before trying a new technique she had read about during the week in Oakfield. She closed her eyes, and focused on her body's natural Will energy. A blue light began to form around the young woman, as screams came from the Bandits who were even now being set upon by Hammer, Sparrow and Petal. Rose ignored all of this, concentrating on drawing her power into her arms. Snapping open her eyes, she thrust her arms forward, sending a massive bolt of lightning at a group of Bandits trying to sneak up on Sparrow, who was currently dueling with a monster of a man, the head of this little encampment.

The lightning flew between the men, shocking each and every one of them. The screams cut off fairly quickly however, as the sheer _power_ of the electricity overwhelmed the Bandit's bodies, sending them crashing to the ground. Sparrow soon finished off her own opponent, the man falling to a thrust from Griever that pierced his heart...Sparrow was not the novice that had fought Thag (who closely resembled this man oddly) anymore.

"Damn Rose, what was that?" the younger sister asked, walking across the ruined encampment to her winded sister.

Rose smiled slightly, "Charge attack. I read about it while we were staying in Oakfield...if we focus our Will energy, the attack is stronger. It's rather tiring though..."

"I can tell," Sparrow joked, before turning to Hammer, who was looking into the distance, "What's up Hammer?"

In answer, the larger woman simply pointed. When the sisters reached where their friend was standing, they saw a group of torches moving towards the camp. Seems like terrified screams and the sound of swords clashing echoed rather far on Bandit Coast. Those could only be a party of Bandits from further along the coast, coming to investigate. It was possible they just thought their 'comrades' (to use the term very loosely) got out of hand...but since when were things that simple?

Quickly thinking of a better plan than 'rush the Bandits', the Heroes split up. Hammer took up a position just out of sight by the gate into the mini-camp, weapon raised and ready for any Bandits who came through. Sparrow stood on the other side, red light glowing around her as she tried what Rose had done. As for the last woman, she climbed up a nearby tree, and pulled out her fancy new steel turret rifle.

All three of them readied themselves for the Bandits, prepared to fight the oncoming men and do it quickly. The Coast was swarming with the crooks after all, and they couldn't afford to bring the entire area down on their heads.

"Wonder what's going on down here?" one of the Bandits said, loud enough for his voice to carry to the Heroes.

"Shut yer trap Jamie!" another shouted at him.

"You shut yer's you son of a Balverine!"

As the arguing Bandits came close enough for Rose to see them, she looked down the sight of her pre-loaded weapon. The first Bandit to come into view heard the sound of her rustling branches, and started to look around wildly. His eyes widened when he saw a flash of silver reflect off his torch, and he opened his mouth to yell a warning...before the first of six bullets flashed from Rose's rifle. The man's opening mouth vanished in a spray of blood, while Rose quickly rotated her barrels, and fired off the remaining five bullets. Six shots, downed four Bandits.

The remaining men drew their own rifles, and returned fire. Rose slid out of the tree, as Sparrow and Hammer moved from their hiding positions. The younger sister charged headlong into the midst of the Bandits, most of whom didn't even realize what was happening before the youngest Hero slammed her hands into the ground. A ring of red fire spread out from Sparrow, catching the crooks clothes on fire, and sending two of them flying off the side of the cliff that the road ran along.

As the Bandits scattered, some running around like human torches, Hammer waded into the group, her signature weapon swinging left and right, sending Bandits flying in every direction. Rose's eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight, before she reloaded her rifle and fired off another six shots into an imposing Bandit at the rear. When that man fell, the Heroes regrouped.

"Is this what it was like when the Guild was around?" Sparrow asked, as the group continued towards an imposing barricade in the distance.

"What do you mean?" Hammer asked.

Sparrow shrugged, "I mean, taking down Bandits so easily. It would have taken the Guards hours to take down that many, right Rose?"

Rose nodded, "Yeah...if we ever did. I love my mates, but taking that many Bandits on with only three fighters?"

"I see what you mean now..." Hammer whistled.

None of the three new Heroes had truly realized what the three of them working in unison could do until now. Pretty much nothing could stand up to them, at least that they had encountered up to this point at any rate. It gave a whole new perspective on why Lucien was so determined to capture (or kill) all the Heroes...for if this was what three of them could do, what would all five of them (Garth and the as-yet unknown Hero of Skill added to the three women) together do? Six if Theresa actually helped, since she had to have some level of power to have lived for this long.

They didn't really have time to think of that though. The imposing Barricade, something that had kept the way to Westcliff under Bandit control for years now, stood in front of the little group. Rose and Sparrow looked up at the wooden structure dubiously. While Sparrow could probably burn it down, given time, it would leave them exposed. Then again, they had a rather useful battering ram in the form of Hammer and her...hammer.

"Stand back," the large woman said, moving forward, "so this is the infamous Barricade? Not that impressive really."

Hammer brought her weapon high above her head, before swinging down. The wooden barrier held for a second...before cracking and shattering. Splinters went flying, as the gate collapsed in on itself. Standing behind the rubble, was a group of Bandits. Several of them looked suitably terrified at how easily their famous barrier had fallen, but one pushed his way to the front. Wearing a black mask over the top of his head and wielding a blackened Katana, the man cut an imposing figure as he glared at the three Heroes.

"Three women? You fools are scared of three _women_?" the man spat, glaring just as much at the Bandits as the Heroes (who were suitably insulted by the jab at their gender).

Sparrow let her displeasure be clear, as she fired a fireball at the Bandit. The man snorted, as he jumped into the air...higher than any human should have been capable of. Wildly looking around, the three Heroes soon found him, standing atop a ruined archway. The man didn't say anything else, merely pointing his sword forward. The previously terrified Bandits ran forward, screaming and waving their swords as they charged the Heroes.

Hammer body-checked two of the men, pushing them back before flattening them with her hammer. She was soon surrounded by Bandit reinforcements however, cutting the Hero of Strength off from the Hero Sisters. Rose and Sparrow, for their parts, were fighting off at least six Bandits, Lancer and Griever getting a workout. These Bandits were stronger than their counterparts outside the barricade, and their weapons were better too.

One of the men swiped at Sparrow, his blade cutting her hair loose before the Heroes flaming sword cut his _head_ loose. Rose spun in a circle, her silver blade coming around and using her momentum to impart more force. A Bandit brought his iron blade up to try and block Lancer...and was rewarded with his weapon snapping in half as Rose's weapon cleaved clean through it. The man wore a shocked expression on his face, as his chest was sliced open, before Rose ducked as a fireball flew over her head and hit one of her other opponents.

"They mean business this time!" Sparrow shouted, ducking a Bandits swing before cutting the man's arm off and kicking him into a piece of the Barricade.

Rose grunted in reply, dodging a wild swing before using her trademarked lightning-punch to send a Bandit flying off the cliff. Hammer had finished her own enemies by bringing her weapon into the ground, the sheer force creating a miniature earthquake that knocked the men to their knees...and allowed her to easily finish them off. With an equivalent blast of lighting mixed with fire from the Sisters, the only Bandit left was the cocky man on the ruin.

This man glared down on the Heroes, as he jumped to their level, katana aimed at Sparrow, "You killed all my men. Don't think I'll be so easy!"

With that out of the way, the man charged forward faster than any enemy the Heroes had fought to this point...even faster than Lucien's men. Sparrow barely got her flaming katana up fast enough to catch the Bandits black blade. And even then, he pushed her back, before delivering a kick to her gut that sent the young woman flying into Hammer. With her out of the way, the man turned to Rose. He brought up one hand, and casually waved the eldest Hero forward.

Now, let it be known that few things got Rose truly angry. One of those was hurting her sister and then _taunting her about it_. The Hero saw red, as she ran at the cocky Bandit. The man grinned slightly, as he dodged Rose's first attack, and brought his own blade around. Rose parried the blow, spinning and trying to kick the man's legs out from under him. The Bandit jumped over Lancer, kicking Rose as he went. The Hero stumbled slightly, as the man took advantage of this and cut into her shoulder.

Hissing in pain, Rose backed up and blocked a follow up blow. The man grinned again, as he started to push against Rose. The grin vanished as a ball of fire hit him in the side however. He jumped away, patting himself down to put the fire out. Sparrow stumbled up next to her sister, giving her a weary grin, before turning to the Bandit leader. The man simply glared again, attacking at a furious pace. Rose and Sparrow were hard pressed to keep up with the man's blows, and Hammer couldn't even jump in for worry of hitting one of the sisters with her overly large weapon.

_Damn it, he's good!_ Sparrow thought, ducking a blow from the Bandit, and cursing as he dodged her own attack.

Rose had similar thoughts going through her head, as she winced every time she had to block with her injured arm. Realizing that they weren't beating this man in a contest of swordsmanship, something needed to be done to stop him. Spinning away after winking at Sparrow, Rose let her sister take the brunt of the man's assault. The Bandit was no fool and he tried to get away from Sparrow, and attack Rose. This was exactly what her plan was however. For as the Bandit disengaged from Sparrow and went after Rose (who he presumed was charging a Will attack), he never saw the fireball that had been growing in Sparrow's hand.

"Eat this!"

The ball of flame was far larger than the previous one, and hit the man in his head. The Bandit finally fell to the ground, his face a charred mess. Rose and Sparrow panted heavily, as Hammer walked up, shock written across her face.

"Wow...just...wow!" the large woman said, "Remind me never to get on your bad sides."

The sisters grinned, as Rose downed a high-strength potion. It sealed the wound on her shoulder, but she was still a bit weak. Sparrow looked worriedly at her sister, who just waved her off. Rose didn't want to worry her sister, and she knew that if she showed any signs of weakness it would distract Sparrow. The same went for her naturally...sometimes being so close to each other had its problems.

Thankfully though, this was the last of the Bandit camps. With their leader dead, any remaining crooks had melted into the forest, understandably terrified of the seemingly unstoppable Heroes. The Bandits were smart for a different reason however...there was a reason that the Bandit Coast ended where it did. This camp was the end of the Bandits domain, and the beginning of the Westcliff portion of the road. For beyond the Bandit domain was the Westcliff Woods...home to something far more dangerous and terrifying than even the worst Bandit...creatures as ancient as Albion herself, and that had sent even seasoned Heroes of old running at times...

* * *

**Hero's Guild**

* * *

While the Heroes were fighting their way through Bandit Coast, Theresa wandered through the ruined halls of the Heroes Guild. She had been doing so ever since the sisters had found that book...currently held in her arms. She had read the history encased in the book, finding it the most accurate representation of her dear brother's life she had seen to date. There was the occasional inconsistency to be sure (the myth of him using the Sword of Aeons for instance). But compared to any other 'history' of the Hero of Oakvale, this book was the most accurate.

It was for that very reason she was wandering around the ruined Guild. She knew areas that she hadn't shown to Sparrow, and it was these areas Theresa was going through. Most notably, a side room that she had purposely preserved...a room containing her brother's old adventuring equipment, including the mighty Avo's Tear, hidden where only one of her bloodline could get to it.

She wasn't here for the sword however...she was here since sitting amongst these old items was the closest she could be to her brother. Theresa may have _acted_ emotionless with everyone around her these days, but here...amongst what remained of her brother, she could act more like the young woman she had been before heading to Samarkand and discovering her immortality.

"I miss you terribly brother," the old seer said softly, as she stood amongst his equipment, "I wonder what you would do."

Thus was the crux of the matter as far as Theresa staying in this room went. She had seen how close Rose and Sparrow were, and it reminded her of days gone by. Days when she could be totally open with someone, and love them as they loved her.

"I do not know what to do. Rose and Sparrow...they remind me of us, all those years ago. It hurts more than I had thought it would."

Theresa wasn't sure how to act towards Rose and Sparrow, something that was extremely disconcerting to her, as she had always known how to act...ever since she had been forced to grow up by Twinblade and his Bandits. The sisters reminded her so much of her and her brother that it hurt at times...something that was odd in itself. With the fact that the two knew who, and what, she was...it became harder to stay aloof. There was a part of Theresa, long-buried, that craved for the same affection she had once had...and knew that if she just let the sisters in, she would have it. At least from Sparrow anyway.

The rest of the ancient woman fought against this however. She had long ago considered emotions like this a weakness...there was a reason she hadn't let herself be known to any of her brother's descendants. But now, standing in this room, she found it harder to cling to the old choices. Even Theresa did not know what had happened to her brother...not really. And she still hated herself for not being there when he vanished to this day.

Standing amongst his possessions, at least those he had left behind, the old woman couldn't help but feel like he was looking down at her...silently reproaching her for not aiding his children, like she had once aided him. It was absurd, but that didn't mean she could ignore the feeling.

"You always did care more than I did," the old seer said softly, a small smile on her face as she remembered how self-sacrificing the Hero of Oakvale was.

The man would have been proud of Sparrow and Rose, both of whom were definitely his descendants, in more than just blood. Not to say that Theresa herself wasn't proud of the sisters...she certainly was. She would never admit it, least of all to the women in question, but she had been proud of them ever since she had first seen them as orphans eking by on the streets of Bowerstone. Such determination...such strength...for two little girls who had never known love or compassion from anyone but each other.

Casting one last look around the room, Theresa removed one single object as she left and resealed the chamber. An old sword, held gingerly in her hands...the weapon her brother had used to slay Jack of Blades the first time, before he had gained Avo's Tear. Theresa had promised herself she would never take up a weapon again, after spending so much time in Samarkand as what amounted to a scholar. Now? Well, now she had something to protect.

The small part of Theresa that craved love more than anything else had won against the parts that told her that she could never grow attached to anyone again, knowing that they would soon die and turn to dust while she lived on. Her cold, logical mind couldn't figure out what had changed, but...she couldn't treat Rose and Sparrow as tools any longer. She wouldn't fight their Quest for them...but she would train them, and protect them if needed.

It is what her beloved brother would want her to do...and she would not disappoint him.

* * *

**AN: And there we go. Again, it is fun trying to keep Theresa in character, while still showing changes.  
**


	9. Balverines

**AN: And here we are with the next chapter! Remember to review if you like it! :D  
**

* * *

**Westcliff Woods**

* * *

"Y'know, here I was thinking that Bandit Coast was creepy," Hammer said, as she pushed vines out of her face, "this is a _lot_ worse."

Rose stumbled over a branch, and cursed slightly, "No argument here."

While the older women were glaring and muttering about the area, Sparrow had climbed a tree and started to look out along the path into the distance. The road to Westcliff was identifiable, but it was in pretty bad disrepair...honestly, it looked like no one had cared to cut trees or even put up signposts in decades. The Bandits could explain some of it, but not all of it...even they would have done _some_ work to keep the path to Westcliff clear and useable. The fact that they obviously hadn't was worrying, to put it mildly.

As she scanned the route, straining to see more than a little ways down the path due to the oppressive darkness, Sparrow heard a bone-chilling howl, and almost went tumbling out of her tree in shock. She managed to keep her grip on the branch (though it certainly wasn't comfortable for her legs, being as she was still wearing a skirt), and started looking around wildly. No matter where Sparrow looked, she couldn't see anything though.

_What the hell was that?_ the young Hero wondered, before leaving the tree and catching up with Hammer and Rose...both of whom were warily scanning the area, while Petal whimpered and held his tail between his legs.

"Any idea what that was?" the youngest Hero asked.

Rose shook her head, but Hammer nodded slowly, "I've heard that this part of the road has Balverines hiding in the woods. I thought it was just a rumor...but I thought the same about Lucien too..."

Both Rose and Sparrow's heads snapped up, and hands quickly went to rifles. While neither of them had ever actually _seen_ a Balverine, they knew very well what the creatures were. And what they were capable of. Rose maybe more so than Sparrow due to her training, but both of them were wary and holding their rifles tightly. Getting ambushed by a Balverine was not high on their 'to do' lists.

Keeping quiet in hopes that they could avoid any encounters with the beasts, the little group set off down the path again. They moved quickly and quietly, eyes scanning every direction around them, watching for any signs of Bandits or Balverines. Petal sniffed along beside them, though his tail remained between his legs...the oppressive atmosphere freaking the entire group out to varying degrees.

As they came upon an old ruin, another howl rent the night air. Quickly raising their rifles, Rose and Sparrow stood back-to-back, looking for any signs of Balverines. Hammer stood in front of them, looking down the road. Her eyes followed the path, before settling on an old arch...and a terrifying sight atop it.

"There's one of them!" she hissed, getting the sisters to look down the path.

Sitting atop the arch was a black, roughly human sized creature. Long legs and arms were clinging to the arch in a crouch, as the wolf-like face stared down on the Heroes. The Balverine bared its teeth, and let loose its loudest howl yet, before leaping into the air, vanishing into the dark sky.

"Okay, _now_ I'm scared," Rose said; her voice deadly serious.

The other two Heroes nodded their agreement...you would have to have ice running through your veins to not be scared of that sight. And it didn't help that the black coat of the Balverine blended so well into the ever-present darkness. It could pop up _anywhere_ at _any time_, and all the Heroes could do was react. This wasn't a Bandit, or even a group of Bandits, that they could ambush. _They_ were the prey, and _it_ was the hunter. That was a distinctly uncomfortable feeling.

And as a thud sounded from the right, the Balverine sprung its trap. Claws raked across Rose's back, sending her tumbling to the ground, dazed and feeling like her back was on fire.

"Rose!" Sparrow shouted, firing her rifle at the overgrown wolf.

The Balverine roared in pain as the bullet hit, and leaped back into the air. The youngest Hero ran up to her sister, who was struggling to her feet. Rose grunted in pain, as she swayed slightly. Shaking her head to clear it, the older sister drew Lancer and stood ready. Sparrow looked worriedly at her sister, but Rose merely grimaced in a rough approximation of a smile and scanned for the Balverine.

She didn't have to look long, as the creature dropped down beside Hammer, trying to take out what it probably thought was the biggest threat. The large woman blocked the sweeping claws with her massive weapon, pushing the Balverine back. The monster tensed its legs for another jump, but didn't get the chance this time. Rose ran as fast as her injured body could take her, and swung Lancer into the Balverine. While a normal longsword would injure one of the monsters and probably anger it...Lancer was not normal. The Silver Augment encased in the blade was the perfect weapon for combating a Balverine.

The wolf-man roared in pain as the silver blade cut into its side, jumping back into the air and nearly tearing Rose's weapon from her hands. The bloodstained sword came down, as Rose whimpered ever so slightly at the pain that roared through her back.

"Keep an eye open!" Sparrow shouted, taking the leadership position.

"Got it!" Hammer replied, while Rose settled for nodding.

The Heroes began to warily walk along the road again, waiting for the Balverine to reappear. The creature obliged, angling right for Rose...anger and fear combining in a fierce desire to kill the woman with the silver weapon. Rose merely dropped to her stomach, as the Balverine leaped right over her...and impaled itself on Griever. Sparrow's sword may not have had a Silver Augment like her sister's, but the fire worked well enough when the blade was jammed into the beasts heart. The Balverine let out one final, pitiful growl, before falling limp. Kicking the corpse off her blade, Sparrow helped Rose to her feet.

The older sister nodded her thanks, while downing a pair of potions. Sighing in relief as her wounds resealed, Rose gave her sister a weary smile.

"Nice work Sparrow," the older woman said, "let's hope there aren't any more of them nearby."

Both of the other Heroes nodded, as they continued along the path. While the occasional howl echoed through the trees surrounding the path, no more Balverines showed themselves. The relief in the group was palpable...though the wariness remained. Sparrow, for instance, refused to let Rose walk on the sides. She would only let her sister be in the center...figuring her silver weapon was why the first Balverine had targeted her first.

Rose protested, but not very heavily. She would have done the same if their roles were reversed, and she knew it. In any case, the precaution proved unnecessary for the majority of the path. Howls and creepy trees aside, nothing jumped out to attack the Heroes. The peace lasted until they heard a feminine scream from further along the road. Rushing forward, the three Heroes saw a young woman standing over the mauled body of a young man...obviously killed by a Balverine.

The woman was crying, the mournful sound cutting through the Heroes hearts. Hammer, ever-gentle to anyone but her enemies, walked up to the blonde woman, putting a hand on her shoulder. The woman looked up, tear tracks across her cheeks. Hammer smiled gently down on the woman, before helping her to her feet. The woman shook slightly, as sobs continued to wrack her body. As Hammer worked to comfort her, Rose scanned the area to make sure the Balverine that had attacked the man wasn't still around.

"Bavlerines...they killed my husband and took my son! Please, you have to help me!" the woman's voice drew Rose's attention back to her.

"We'll help, don't worry," Sparrow said, stepping forward with what she hoped was a comforting smile on her face, "what's your name?"

"Lilith," the woman hiccupped, "please, follow me."

The Heroes were, admittedly, mildly curious as to how the woman knew where to go, considering how fast Balverines were. But they didn't look beyond that, considering how obviously distraught the woman was. They merely followed her, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of the super-wolves. Hammer continued to talk to the woman, while Rose and Sparrow walked together and watched for any attacks. Luckily for them, the Balverine that had killed Lilith's husband seemed to have vanished. Or unluckily...when one thought about the fact it had her son.

The moon had finally come out from behind the clouds as the group walked along the road, illuminating an ancient structure in the distance. The ruined building was massive, its wall stretching up into the sky, dull-grey stone covered in equally-dull green moss. That wasn't what drew attention however...for sitting inside what looked like windows, were three Balverines. Rose and Sparrow quickly moved to the front, rifles raised and firing. They weren't going to let the wolves get the jump on them _this_ time.

Unfortunately, the creatures leaped into the air and vanished; only a growl of pain as evidence the shells had hit their targets.

"My son!" Lilith cried mournfully, as she heard the howls.

Hammer gave the distraught woman a small smile, "Don't worry; I'm sure he's alive. This building is where they took him yeah?"

Lilith nodded weakly, "Yes. I don't know why though."

The little group walked through the massive entrance of the ruined structure, finding nothing inside. Or, rather, nothing inside what seemed like the main building. Right in front of the entrance was a stone ramp leading down into a basement. Rose felt the hair on her arms sticking up, and looking at Sparrow saw she was feeling the same thing. Both sisters wore nearly identical dubious looks on their faces, as they looked down at the stone. Lilith was walking right at it, while Hammer followed.

"Who's brilliant idea was it to build the road through here?" the Hero of Strength commented.

"I have a very bad feeling little Sparrow," Rose said quietly.

"So do I Rose...so do I..."

* * *

If there was one thing the Hero Sisters should have learned to trust, it was their bad feelings. When they walked through the door, the little group found themselves in an obviously ancient structure...yet one that still had its torches alight. Someone had to have been through here recently for that, which was worrying in-of-itself, considering the overabundance of Balverines in this area. Petal whimpered as they walked along, the walls seeming to close in on the group.

A low growl echoed through the hallway, as Rose noticed something through a large hole in the wall. Urgently grabbing at her sister's arm, Rose pointed into the hole. Sparrow stiffened as she saw the unmistakable shadow of a Balverine reflected in the torchlight. The shadow wasn't moving, so it was possible it didn't know they were in here. So Rose and Sparrow kept quiet...hoping that they wouldn't draw the beasts attention. Because if there was one Balverine in here...it could mean there were more. And they barely killed one of the creatures.

Toss in the much smaller confines of this structure...it was not a good combination by any means.

"Who built this place?" Hammer wondered aloud, eliciting glares from the sisters, "what?"

Sighing in unison, the siblings just shook their heads. In any case, they were past the Balverine shadow, and into a much larger room. This one had several pillars, tombs, and what looked like galleries built into the sides. Hammer was right to wonder who had built this place, but the Heroes soon had a larger worry.

"Children, I bring you flesh!" a demonic voice echoed through the halls.

The Heroes eyes snapped back to Lilith, who wore an insanely disturbing grin on her face...red eyes making the look even more terrifying. Acting on instinct, Rose snapped off a shot at the woman, who merely jumped like a Balverine (and that one Bandit) and vanished into the large room. The Heroes gathered together, realizing this whole situation was an elaborate trap by Lilith...if that was even her name.

"Damn it, we fell for it!" Sparrow cursed, as howls began echoing through the halls.

"I shouldn't have listened to her!" Hammer lamented, as the sounds of Balverines grew closer.

Rose would have added something herself, but she didn't get the chance. _Three_ Balverines dropped to the ground around the Heroes, growling and flashing claws. The creatures looked hungry...and wasted no time before attacking. The Heroes raised their weapons, and charged headlong at the creatures. It was a risk, but the only other option was being forced into a corner.

"Come on!" Rose shouted, swinging Lancer at the nearest wolf.

The Balverine nimbly leaped above the blade, barely being clipped in the leg. Due to the nature of the augmented weapon that still elicited a roar of pain, and kept the monster from capitalizing on its advantage. It fell to the ground, leg twitching as the silver did its work. But Rose was still slower than the beast, as it pushed itself up and swung its claws at the oldest Hero. Rose barely brought Lancer up in time to catch the claws, and the blow still flung her back into a pillar, aggravating her sore back.

Forcing herself up, ignoring the stars swimming in her face, Rose focused her Will energy. If she couldn't take the monster down with her sword (the rifle would take too long to get a good shot...and the bullet was too small to do much good), then she would damn well kill it with lightning. The Balverine growled and circled the Hero, wary of the silver blade still held in her right hand. While the creatures distant ancestors would have recognized the glow around Rose and attacked before she could finish, this creature had no knowledge of Heroes or their abilities...all it knew was that the weapon in the woman's hand was silver and, thus, a bigger threat.

_Just a little longer...just a little more..._ Rose thought, as she felt the _power_ of Will flow through her body.

With an almighty shout, the Hero flung her largest blast of lightning yet at the Balverine. To its credit, the creature tried to dodge the lightning, realizing the threat...too late. The blue bolt slammed into the overgrown wolf, sending it flying back, twitching as the current roared through its body. Rose, stumbling slightly, ran forward before the Balverine could recover, and jammed Lancer into its heart. The beast's arms came up and tried to snatch at Rose, but she just drove the blade deeper...killing the beast.

While Rose was fighting her Balverine, Sparrow was dueling a larger monster, the creature older and more wary than the young one Rose had killed. Sparrow already bore a cut along her head from one of its claws, while the Balverine bore a burnt patch of fur where Sparrow had hit it with a fireball. Unlike Rose's kill, the fire did little but annoy the younger Hero's foe, as it circled her. Sparrow frowned, ignoring the blood running down her face as she tried to think of a plan to kill this creature.

The Balverine was too smart for that, however, and wasn't about to give Sparrow the time to plan. It lunged forward, roaring at the young woman. Sparrow's eyes widened, as the monster slammed into her. The Balverine's face was inches from her own, as it bared its teeth. Lungs pounding, Sparrow struggled to move. The Balverine didn't budge in the slightest, weighing far more than Sparrow. Its foul breath came down on her face, as Sparrow turned her head, preparing for the bite.

_Rose...I'm sor...NO! I won't leave her alone again!_

With a roar that would make the Balverines jealous, Sparrow _pushed_. Her Will energy, focused in her desperation to win, exploded out from her body, sending the monster flying through the air. The creature roared in indignation, as it slammed into a pillar by the pit at the other end of the room. The pillar cracked from the force, as the Balverine crouched and started to stalk back towards Sparrow. It limped slightly, as the Hero panted, her eyes taking on a blue glow as she glared at the creature.

She was _not_ going to lose to a Balverine. She had too much to live for. Raising Griever, Sparrow charged at the Balverine. The beast growled and charged at Sparrow itself, fangs bared. Smiling grimly, the Hero bent her legs and slid _under_ the Balverine. The overgrown wolf tried to compensate, but it wasn't fast enough as Griever cleaved through its body, sending it crashing to the floor in a bloody heap. As Sparrow got to her feet, she had to duck as another Balverine went flying over her head into the pit, smashed aside by Hammer.

All three of the Heroes were panting heavily as they got back together, warily watching for any more monsters.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Hammer asked, "We can't go back, and that pit isn't getting any smaller."

Sparrow frowned, while Rose looked at the pit...and noticed something. The pillar that her sister had flung the Balverine into...it was cracked, and _just_ large enough that, were it to topple over _just right_ it would provide a route across the bridge.

"Hammer?" the elder sister asked, "Think you can make us a bridge?"

"What?" the Hero of Strength asked, before following Rose's eyes and grinning, "Oh yeah, I can do that. Keep them off my back will ya?"

Sparrow and Rose nodded, covering Hammer as the larger woman moved to the cracked pillar. She dropped her weapon, and braced herself before starting to push at the pillar. Ominous creaking noises began, as pebbles rained down from the top of the structure. That was the least of their worries though, as a roar louder than any of the others echoed through the hall. Somehow there was a tone of both anger and...grief...in the roar. Dropping down just outside sword range of the Heroes was a super-sized _white_ Balverine. The monster roared, before trying to hit Hammer.

Rose jumped in front of her sister's best friend, Lancer taking the White Balverine's blow. Gritting her teeth, Rose pushed against the Balverine, but felt her feet slipping...the monster was _strong_. As Rose struggled to maintain her footing, the younger sister charged in, swinging Griever at the White Balverine. Seemingly sensing the blow coming, the monster jumped over Sparrow, kicking the Hero to the floor while cutting Rose's left arm.

Rose grimaced at the pain of that gash, before turning and barely ducking another swipe from the monster. The Balverine growled at the Hero, before roaring in pain as Sparrow nailed it with a fireball. Turning to glare at the younger Hero, the Balverine kicked Rose aside before leaping at Sparrow. The Hero ducked on instinct, not wanting to get into a match with _this_ Balverine. This one was smarter than any they had yet encountered however, as it lowered a leg and knocked Sparrow to the ground once again.

_OW!_

Shaking her head, the young Hero jumped to her feet and cut a gash into the Balverine's arm as it attempted to decapitate her. The creature roared, saliva flying at the Hero as it cradled its sliced arm. Rose had by now gotten back to her feet and stood next to her sister. Both Heroes brandished their swords, as the Balverine _glared_ at them. Tensing its legs, the creature moved to leap at the Heroes once again. Rose stepped forward on instinct, covering her sister...and getting knocked aside by the Balverine. Sparrow shouted in anger, as the Balverine spun around and swung its uninjured arm hard enough to knock Griever out of Sparrow's hands.

With no weapons to fight with other than the rifle on her back, Sparrow was knocked to the ground once again as the Balverine grappled with her. The injured arm gave Sparrow a slight edge, but the creature was far larger and stronger than her. Kicking it fiercely, Sparrow managed to get to her feet...but the Balverine would _not_ let its prey go. The two fought for control, Sparrow firing every bit of Will energy she could muster at the beast, while its claws cut into her flesh.

A final blast knocked the Balverine to the edge of the pit, right as Hammer toppled the pillar. The shock of that fall caused the Balverine to fall backwards, keening as it slammed into the spears lining the pit. However, it wasn't going down alone...claws tugging into Sparrow's shirt and skin, dragging her with it.

"NO!" Rose shouted, her voice anguished as she watched her beloved sister go tumbling off the side of the pit.

Sprinting as fast as she could, Rose fell to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes. The first sight she was greeted by was the White Balverine, pierced by dozens of spikes. As her tears wet the ground...Rose didn't even notice a hand gripping her knee at first. When the grip grew tighter, she saw Sparrow, clinging by the skin of her teeth to the side of the pit.

Not even thinking of the risk of both of them tumbling in, Rose grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her out of the pit. Sparrow let out a sigh of relief...before having the breath forced from her lungs as she was pulled into a bone-breaking hug by Rose.

"Don't do something that stupid!" the older sister sobbed, as Sparrow patted her on the back as best as she could...as her blood soaked Rose's clothes.

Realizing this, Rose pulled back and practically forcefed her sister potions until the wounds sealed, while Hammer tested the bridge. Declaring it safe, the Heroes ran across, leaving the Hall behind them forever.

* * *

**AN: And...another chapter down. I think I like having a story finished as I post it :P  
**


	10. The Crucible

**AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone! :D  
**

**I hope to see the same interest in this chapter! To answer a recurring theme in the reviews though...yes, the Balverines were strong. Perhaps it might seem abnormally strong even. But the way I looked at it as I was writing...Balverines are _the_ strongest 'common' enemy in the game. Yes, there are stronger enemies in each game but...they are either rare (Trolls) or tied to the villain of the individual game (Jack's Minions, Lucien's army, Logan's Elite/Crawler's Shadow Minions).**

**Considering this was the first time any of the Heroes had encountered Fable's resident Werewolves, I figured it made sense that they would be quite tough to kill. That was the logic I used anyway ;)**

**Again, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and leaves a review!**

* * *

**Westcliff**

* * *

Leaving the Hall behind them, the Heroes emerged into a new path. They were once more on the side of a cliff, this time with a hill sharply rising on the opposite side of the path. The result was a very narrow, winding path up from the almost cave-like exit of the Hall. The path was far less oppressive, as sunlight could be seen in the distance, regardless of the clouds covering most of the sky. Needless to say, after the scares of the last area they had gone through...this was quite a relief for the Heroes.

Walking up the path, they soon found themselves in front of another gate. This one was larger than the barricade that Hammer had destroyed, and better maintained. A creaking sound announced a winch being pulled, as the gate retracted in front of the little group. Beyond the structure, sat the village of Westcliff. Though perhaps 'village' is a nicer term than the area deserved. There were only a few stalls and one dilapidated tavern, with the towering Crucible in the distance.

"Such a dump," Hammer muttered as the Heroes walked through the gate, "if it weren't for that Crucible, who would live here?"

"I can't argue with you there," Rose commented, wrinkling her nose at the _smell_ of the town.

Sparrow merely nodded, eyes scanning the town. At first glance, it really wasn't impressive. The stalls were in disrepair, and there were no real buildings. The only real sign of activity was at a ruined tavern, lights illuminating the crowds of citizens and Crucible fighters alike, all getting drunk off their rockers. Then again, when all you could do was get drunk or go fight in the Crucible, maybe it was more understandable why they did so...

Shaking her head slightly, Sparrow followed her friend and sister down the path. While they could have gone right to the Crucible, the Heroes decided to split up and explore the town a bit, see if they could find anything out. Or find supplies, as surviving the Crucible would require the best potions and weapons they could gather...and even then, it wouldn't be easy by any means.

Rose went to the weapons stalls, while Hammer searched for potions and light armor. As for Sparrow, she walked to the tavern. None of the people getting drunk seemed to have anything to offer, but she noticed a familiar face standing above the 'structure'. Quickly ascending the nearest ramp, Sparrow ran up to Barnum, the man having _somehow_ gotten to Westcliff from Oakfield. She wasn't inclined to figure out _how_ he had done so really...but the fact he was here was good. Maybe he had more money?

"Hey, need help with something?" the young Hero called out.

Barnum turned around, his eyes widening slightly. Sparrow wondered what was wrong...and then felt a cold breeze and remembered the rather...cut up appearance of her clothing. Pulling her shirt closer to her body, she raised an eyebrow and dared the man to say something. Barnum seemed to have a sense of self-preservation though, and just shook his head.

"Hey, it's you! Where's your sister?" the man said, surprisingly normally.

"Around," Sparrow replied.

Barnum seemed to accept that, "It's fortunate you came around miss. You see, I have another brilliant plan! I've been looking for an investor to turn this...town...into the jewel of Albion! I'm convinced that with just a little work, Westcliff could compete with Bowerstone!"

Sparrow looked dubious...Barnum's plans hadn't exactly worked before. Not to mention 'looking for an investor' implied _he_ wanted money, not the other way around. If it had been just her, she probably would have walked away. But Sparrow knew what Rose would say...especially when she took another look at the deplorable state of Westcliff.

"How much gold?"

"5,000! But I promise I will pay you back every gold piece when Westcliff booms!"

Sparrow frowned, but sighed and passed over the money anyway. That was a not insignificant amount, most of her spare spending money in fact. But...her morals wouldn't let her say no. Regardless of his eccentrics and questionable business moves, at least Barnum had his heart in the right place. Hopefully this would do some good for Westcliff...Avo knew the town needed some good.

"Thank you! You won't regret this, don't worry!" Barnum exclaimed, as Sparrow nodded and left the man to his planning.

Clutching her torn shirt tightly, the Hero looked for her sister. She quickly found Rose, walking up to her with a _very_ expensive looking gun in hand. Sparrow frowned at that, knowing her sister had the turret rifle on her back still. The elder Hero walked next to her sister, and would have handed her the rifle...had she not noticed the way Sparrow was holding her shirt. Instead, Rose settled for glaring and pointing the rifle at any man (and a fair few women) that sent cat-calls at her sister.

The sisters tracked down Hammer next, the larger woman carrying a set of leather armor in her arms. Obviously too small for _her_, they were the perfect size for Sparrow.

"Thanks Hammer!" Sparrow said happily, as she took the clothes.

"No problem Sparrow," Hammer replied easily, "figured you could use something to replace those old rags of yours."

Sparrow nodded, as she ran off to find somewhere a bit more...private...to change. Rose sighed slightly, before giving Hammer a smile, "Thanks for that. You didn't have to spend your money on her."

Hammer merely waved a hand, "Nah, it was my pleasure. Sparrow is my best friend y'know."

Rose smiled again...always glad to see someone who cared for her sister like she herself did. Soon enough, Sparrow came running back, flexing her arms and legs in her new armor. It didn't do much to enhance her natural beauty, but it _did_ offer more protection than her old Gypsy rags had done. And that was better for Rose in any case. Sparrow seemed to agree, if the wide grin on her face was any indication.

Handing her sister the Master Flintlock that she had been saving money for, Rose lead the way up to the Crucible. The long ramp gave the group a perfect view of the imposing structure, the mere look of it sending chills down their spines. Standing at the entrance were the commentators, the men looking at the Heroes.

"Will you look at that Mad-Dog, we have new competitors!" one man said.

Mad-Dog nodded, "That we do! Which of you is aiming to compete? We can only let one in at a time...and no pets either, health and safety concerns y'see."

The three Heroes looked amongst each other at that, before Hammer backed up, "Can't be me. Lucien knows who I am."

Rose sighed, "I would do it...but I know I'm not the best fighter. That's you Sparrow."

The final Hero sighed herself, and looked up at the Crucible. She would be lying if she said she was particularly looking _forward_ to this. She had grown so used to fighting by Rose's side, that fighting alone seemed very off to her. But...there wasn't any choice. She had to do this alone, even if she didn't want to. So Sparrow gave her sister and friend hugs, gave Petal a scratch behind the ears...and squared her shoulders as she walked into the imposing structure.

* * *

**Room One**

* * *

She didn't have long to wait either. The first room held the other current competitors...not one of whom were willing to jump into the Crucible. The excuses were absurd, but they worked nonetheless...and thus, Sparrow found herself entering the first room of the Crucible without even the benefit of studying other fighters. She entered the room, finding it a surprisingly natural looking dirt and rock area. Ringing the arena was a long seating area, with the spectators recessed far enough back that Sparrow couldn't see anyone specific. Though she _did_ see a brief flash of blue light...that brought a small smile to her face.

_Rose..._

Letting out a deep breath, Sparrow moved to the center of the arena.

_"Well we have a special treat for you all today! A new competitor enters the Crucible!"_ Allen's voice called out first.

_"That we do folks! Let's see how our new competitor deals with the first round! Three...two...one...GO!"_ Mad-Dog shouted, sounding eager for the upcoming slaughter.

Sparrow wore a frown as she drew Griever and crouched low to the ground...ready for anything. Anything except what actually appeared out of the glowing circles of light anyway. Screeching came from all around her, as the Hero saw...

"Beetles? _Beetles?_" she questioned, as the oversized insects tried to hit her.

_"Sounds like our competitor is a bit cocky doesn't it Mad-Dog?"_

_"Sure does Allen! Little Sparrow shouldn't underestimate the Crucible!"_

Spinning around, Sparrow's blade cleaved through two of the beetles, their hard carapaces providing no protection from the flaming katana. Ducking a bug that flew over her head (and got a fireball for its trouble) Sparrow chuckled as she could only imagine the look on Rose's face. She had claimed that nickname herself, and tended to get a _bit_ annoyed when others used it.

Swinging Griever in a wide arc, the Hero cleaved another beetle in two, ending the first wave. And so it went for the rest of the first round. While the bugs might have been dangerous when Sparrow was an amateur Hero, they were little to no threat now. Between her Will abilities and flaming sword, the beetles might as well have been target practice, nothing more. Taking a moment to catch her breath, the Hero stood up and walked through the only open door...heading for the second room of the Crucible.

* * *

**Room Two**

* * *

The second room Sparrow entered was distinctly less natural looking. While it still bore the same 'terrain' as the beetle room that was the extent of things. Blood 'decorated' the floor, while a square of metal sat in the center of the room. Sparrow got a distinctly bad feeling about that metal platform, and carefully walked around it. Drawing Griever once more, the Hero set herself up on top of a little mound, and waited for the go-signal.

And she got it...in the form of Hobbes. Sparrow let out a sound of frustration at that, as she was forced to roll away from her original position by the numbers of creatures popping up around her. The Hobbes roared and charged at the Hero, who took out of her new Master Flintlock. The rifle barked once, the recoil surprising Sparrow...but also blowing a Hobbe aside, the creature left bleeding on the ground.

_Dear Avo this is strong!_

Grinning fiercely, Sparrow reloaded and kept firing. Roll, shoot, duck, repeat. One Hobbe got close enough to swing at the Hero with its club as she reloaded. Sparrow just ducked under the blow, operating more on instinct than rational thought now. As the Hobbe's beady little eyes widened, Sparrow brought her rifle up and smacked the creature across the face, before firing the newly reloaded weapon into its chest.

_"Would you look at that! Our new competitor took down the first wave in twenty seconds! The crowd is going wild!"_

_"But can she do so well against the second wave? THREE...TWO...ONE...GO!"_

Light cropped up all over the room, as even _more_ Hobbes faded into view. Sparrow grimaced as she reloaded her rifle once more, before noticing something. That metal plate she had been so wary of...there were holes in it. And at either end of the room were little mounds with glowing blue panels on them. Getting the feeling that something was important about those panels, the Hero sprinted towards the nearest one, blowing a Hobbe away before leaping over one of the creatures, and coming up in a roll...right atop the panel.

Screams of pain echoed behind her, as Sparrow turned around.

_What the hell?_

The metal panels...had grown spikes when the Hero touched that panel. Most of the Hobbes had been impaled upon the panels, and the ones that hadn't were easily taken care of with some more rifle fire. Suddenly a _lot_ more wary of the arena, Sparrow heard boos from the crowds.

_"They liked the trap Mad-Dog, but I don't think they appreciate all the rifle fire. BORING!"_

Sparrow shot her rifle into the air in frustration, before drawing Griever as the final wave of Hobbes appeared. If they wanted entertainment, then she would _give_ them their bloody entertainment!

* * *

**Room Three**

* * *

High above the chamber, Rose watched worriedly as her sister cleaved through the remaining Hobbes. Sparrow had gone above and beyond in proving herself a capable fighter, even alone. That did not stop her from worrying though...as the round ended and Sparrow moved into the next room. This was only round three after all, and Sparrow had already fought through more Hobbes than that entire Cave had held. They were both stronger and more experienced, but...the worry remained.

Hammer stood next to the elder Hero, and looked worriedly at Rose. She could see the tenseness in the woman's shoulders, and the way she worriedly bit her lip and tugged on her hair. Nervous ticks somewhat unique to Rose that showed just how much she disliked leaving her sister alone down there. So Hammer put a hand on her shoulder, and squeezed lightly (well, lightly for _her_ anyway).

"Don't worry, I'm sure she can handle things," the Hero of Strength said softly.

Rose shook slightly as she let out a tense breath, "I know she can. Doesn't mean I won't worry."

Hammer could understand that, so she just gave Rose's shoulder another squeeze, before turning back to watching the Crucible unfold. Sparrow had reached the third room now, a large pit dominating the center with rocks and pillars surrounding it. The Hero stood at the center, warily scanning the room as the blue light announced the appearance of her foes. Screaming Hobbes appeared, lining the large chamber.

Rose watched as her sister fired Will spells at the Hobbes...and winced as explosions rang through the chamber. The third room contained many gunpowder barrels, and just as many of the Hobbes were running around with torches and explosives strapped to their bodies. Fire did not mix with powder or explosives...as Hobbe parts went flying in all directions, and one rolled around on fire before falling into the pit.

_Please be careful Sparrow_...

Rose needn't have worried though, at least for the first round. The Hobbes were not the smartest creatures in the world, and Sparrow was _quite_ accurate with her fireballs. Second round went much the same really. It was the third round where a problem came up.

Sparrow had been cornered by an unusually smart group of the monsters, who growled at her as she swung Griever at them. Smarter than average or not, the Hobbes weren't able to dodge the Heroes expert swordsmanship. That wasn't the problem though...for as Sparrow swung her sword, the fiery blade caught on a Hobbe carrying explosives. The detonation was massive, and Rose jumped to her feet, eyes wide as the smoke obscured her sister.

_No! No...no...no...no...no...no..._

Rose anxiously watched the smoke clear...revealing Sparrow sprawled out on the ground, burnt but still moving. The youngest Hero stumbled to her feet, looking for any more Hobbes. For her part, Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

_"Amazing! Not often we have a competitor survive the third round in such...explosive fashion!"_

* * *

**Room Four**

* * *

Stumbling into the fourth room, Sparrow downed a potion to get her stamina back up. This room was swampy, a total departure from the previous areas. So much so, that Sparrow wondered how the Crucible maintained such varying arenas. Shaking her head to clear the random thoughts, the Hero walked up to the center of the room, warily watching for any sign of her next opponents. She had fought beetles and Hobbes so far...so what was next?

As it turned out, the blue circles of light were not the only light sources in this room. Looking up, Sparrow noticed wisps coming down to the ground. And she cursed, as she realized that could only mean one thing..._Hollow Men_. The last time she had fought Hollow Men hadn't gone well by any means, and she wasn't exactly eager to repeat the experience by anyone's definition.

_"Our competitor has fought beetles and Hobbes, but is she ready for the Hollow Men?!"_

_"I hope so, our audience is eager for the bloodshed!"_

Toning out the announcers, Sparrow brought her hands together and concentrated. Fire grew in her palms, the blaze getting larger and larger as the Hero focused all her energy. She knew from the Sacred Cave that Hollow Men were _very_ vulnerable to fire, the old rags they wore for clothes catching alight easily. The fire began to overwhelm the other lights in the room, and indeed, Sparrow herself. It was difficult to control the blaze at this level.

But it was also worth it. Past her massive fire, the Hero could see at least a dozen Hollow Men shambling towards her. The zombies raised their ancient weapons and charged at the Hero, skeletal arms bringing the weapons down.

_NOW!_

Sparrow didn't give them a chance to hit her. As the first blade came near her head, she brought her hands down to the ground, sending out a truly massive wall of fire. The blaze impact the Hollow Men, shattering skeletons and catching clothes alight. Every last Hollow Man fell to the ground, as Sparrow panted from the expenditure of so much energy. Downing a java to try and get her energy back, she drew Griever and awaited the second wave, as trees and swamp moss burned around her.

_"Now why did she have to do that? We're going to have to replace this arena!"_

_"I'm wondering how the 'ell she made fire from her hands meself! At least the crowd loves it!"_

Indeed, roars came from the audience, obviously excited by the Will abilities of Sparrow. None of them would have seen a Hero, so it was understandable that they would be surprised and shocked by the level of control the young woman had over fire. But she couldn't let that distract her; as yet more wisps came down into the ground. The Hollow Men roared at the young Hero, charging forward.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to catch them like she had with the last group, Sparrow moved with all the agility she could muster. Griever spun and slashed, trails of fire cleaving through Hollow Men like a hot knife through butter. Ducking under a blow, the Hero brought her blade through the last Hollow Man, wincing slightly as its blade fell down and cut a trail across her cheek._ That_ was going to leave a scar.

With the fall of the last Hollow Man, Sparrow left the room and continued on to the fifth Crucible arena. She was already feeling fatigued, and there were still four rounds to go...

* * *

**Room Five**

* * *

Walking into the next room, the Hero found an arena with a large bridge at the center, with a pit running underneath the bridge. It was almost like someone had purposely designed the room to force the competitor to fight their way up to the bridge, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. That could only mean one enemy...bandits. Hollow Men hadn't used rifles, Hobbes weren't accurate enough, and beetles again would be pointless.

_Joy..._

Drawing her rifle once more, the Hero crouched down and moved forward slowly, watching for the blue light that announced the enemies. She didn't have to wait long, as the jeers of Bandits came down to her. Something that never seemed to change with the crooks was their tendency to leer at her and make lewd comments. Downright disgusting that was.

"Hey, come here girly!" one of them shouted, "I won't hurt you...much!"

The rest of the bandits laughed at that, before opening fire down on Sparrow. The Hero rolled to the side, kicking one of the lower-level Bandits in the stomach before firing her rifle at his buddy. Another kick kept the downed Bandit down for good, while Sparrow ducked and narrowly avoided getting a bullet through her brain. Retaliating with her own fire, she killed the last Bandit on her level. But that was the problem..._on her level_. The rest of the crooks were on that bridge, and they were the best shots she had seen outside herself and Rose. As a bullet crashed into her shoulder, Sparrow grimaced and jumped behind a large boulder.

_Okay...new plan. How am I taking them down?_ the Hero thought, reloading her rifle.

Raising her rifle over the rock, Sparrow fired blindly and managed to hit a Bandit in the leg. The man cursed and returned fire, sending shards of lead flying around as his bullet crashed into the stone. Sparrow ducked again, cursing herself. Fire wouldn't work at this distance, and the crossfire from the Bandits made it difficult to hit them with her gun.

_Theresa...if you can hear me, I could use some help!_

It was rare of Sparrow to ask her mentor for direct help, but she couldn't very well shout at Rose or Hammer for ideas. That left Theresa.

_'Use Blades_,' the woman's voice answered, _'focus your Will energy into the shape of swords.'_

Sparrow remembered Garth doing so, and brought that image to the front of her mind. Focusing her Will in a totally foreign way to her preferred Inferno, Sparrow opened her eyes and grinned as blades circled her head, the glowing gold Will reacting to her every thought. Lifting her eyes up just enough to see over the top of the boulder, the Hero flung her hand forward and sent the glowing swords up at the Bandits.

"What the 'ell!" one of the crooks shouted, before the blade jammed into his throat.

The other Bandits didn't even get the chance to scream, before the blades ended their lives. Sparrow quickly leaped over her boulder and sprinted up to the bridge, sipping a potion to heal her shoulder. She made it up to the bridge, right as the second wave began. The Bandits teleported into view, staring down at the bottom area. Only when one of them turned around, did they realize that Sparrow was right in their midst.

They didn't get a chance to do anything about it, as the Hero swung Griever in a fast arc, cleaving through the Bandits. Panting slightly, Sparrow did the same to the next group, before leaving for the sixth room.

* * *

**Room Six**

* * *

This room was odd, Sparrow decided as she entered it. It almost reminded her of the Chamber of Fate, a central platform surrounded by on all sides. Unlike the Heart of the Guild though, this room was obviously purposely designed to have the cavern. This wasn't a damaged arena that had collapsed due to age, this was a structure built for its purpose...whatever that purpose was. As she went to the center of the room, Sparrow noted that there were more blue panels...probably more traps.

_"Our Crucible fighter beat Bandits in the last room...but can she do the same here?"_

_"Three...two...one...GO!"_

Sparrow frowned as she looked out around her. The glowing lights formed at each of the three paths between the center and the edges of the room...and on the edges themselves. That could only mean she would have Bandits shooting at her, _and_ trying to cut her in half. Bringing Griever up in one hand and summoning her new Blades with the other, Sparrow readied herself for the coming battle. Bandits appeared out of thin air along the walls, rifles raised and firing at the Hero.

The young woman dodged the bullet, blades flying from her hand and at the Bandits. Pushing them from her mind, she brought Griever up and parried the blow from a Bandit dressed the same as the one they had fought at the Barricade. This man seemed less skilled than his counterpart though, as Sparrow managed to push him back, and drop-kick him off the platform.

"Duck Sparrow!" Rose's voice came down from the audience.

To her credit, Sparrow didn't even question the shout, and ducked. A Bandit overcompensated, and tumbled over her...and by extension, over the edge of the chasm. The announcers got into a shouting match with Rose, while Sparrow eviscerated a charging Bandit and rolled under his corpse, trying to ignore the spray of blood on her face as she felt a bullet graze her leg. Stumbling slightly, the Hero ran to one of the traps, bullets flying around her from several directions.

"IT BURNS!" one of the Bandits shouted as the Hero landed on the panel.

Looking up, Sparrow saw the arena's edges begin spewing fire; catching the unwary Bandits alight and sending them toppling off the edge of the arena.

_"It seems she discovered the traps Mad-Dog!"_

_"Damn it...it hurts my old Bandit heart to see them like this! Second Wave!"_

Sparrow cursed slightly, but refused to budge from her position. Drawing her rifle, she began shooting any Bandits who got near her, while fire continued to pour from the walls. Every time Bandits appeared along the edge of the chasm, they caught fire and either died from that, or from falling into the pit in a mad-dash to get rid of the fire. Ducking a blow, she jammed her rifle into a Bandits gut, the shell sending him flying away from her.

Shaking ever so slightly, Sparrow reloaded and prepared for the third wave. That never came...she had been fighting so hard, she hadn't even realized that the arena fight had ended. Shaking her head and trying to get her limbs to cooperate, Sparrow marched to the next room.

* * *

**Room Seven**

* * *

_Dark...creepy ruins...oh Avo, please don't be what I think this is..._ Sparrow thought, marching into the second-to-last round.

_"Our fighter has reached Round Seven, how exciting!"_

_"Yes, but can she defeat the...BALVERINES?!"_

Sparrow let lose a stream of curses that would have gotten Rose to wash her mouth with soap, had she heard them. It _had_ to be Balverines, didn't it? Squaring her shoulders, the young Hero gathered fire in her hands once again. Balverines were far tougher to kill than Hollow Men, but she had no desire to tangle with them at close range...and a rifle would do little good, Master or not. As the first howl went through the air, Sparrow shivered involuntarily, and knew that Rose was probably struggling to keep herself from jumping in to help.

Eyes watching the area, Sparrow saw the first black-coated monster begin to leap towards her. Pushing her hands forward, the young Hero sent out a massive ball of fire, the Will-powered blaze burning clean through the Balverine's chest. The creature fell to the ground, while another took its place, trying to hit Sparrow from behind. Letting her weary knees give out, the Hero ducked underneath the Balverine's lunge.

Roaring at her, the beast got back to its full height...and promptly fell to its knees, as it looked down and saw Griever sticking out of its chest. Sparrow had grabbed her blade when the wolf had jumped over her, jamming the blade through its back. It had torn her katana from her hands, but it also killed the monster.

_Okay...two down. If this is like the hall there is a thir...THERE!_

Sparrow sent a wave of blades at the last Balverine, roaring at her from atop the ruin at the other end of the arena. The Balverine made a pained noise as the golden Will steel pierced its body like a pincushion, but it didn't kill it. Realizing she didn't have time to charge another spell, or retrieve her sword, Sparrow drew her rifle and aimed at the Balverine as it jumped at her. The open maw of the monster spread wide, eager to bite into Sparrow's flesh.

Controlling her instinct to duck or flee, the Hero let out the breath she had been holding...and fired. The bullet went through the Balverine's open mouth...and out the back of its head, sending the monster falling to the ground at her feet.

_"...that was...that was..."_

_"AMAZING!"_

Retrieving her blade, Sparrow noticed several money bags littering the floor where they had been tossed by the impressed audience. The young Hero grabbed them, before readying herself for the next two waves of Balverines. The second wave went easier than the first, experience paying off as Sparrow killed the Balverines before they had even realized she was there. The last wave though...that was a larger problem.

For while the regular pair of Balverines went down easily enough...a White Balverine stood tall at the center of the arena. While smaller than the last one, Sparrow felt an involuntary chill run down her spine. The beast roared at the Hero, launching itself at her. Bringing Griever up, Sparrow narrowly dodged to the side, slicing the Balverine's arm as it passed.

Roaring once more, the beast swiped at Sparrow, who only barely ducked the claws, and still bore a gash on her head for her troubles. Wildly swinging Griever in response, the Hero managed to cut off three of the Balverine's extended claws, eliciting a roar of pain while the creature leaped to the ceiling high above the arena floor. Sparrow sipped her potion once more, before rolling away from the Balverine as it tried to drop on her head. Bringing up her hands, she launched a ball of fire at the White Balverine.

_"This is one of the best Crucibles we've had in ages! Most don't last this long against the White Balverines!"_

_"And all this funky magic just makes the audience even more excited. Keep it up kid!"_

Once more ignoring the comments, Sparrow frowned as the Balverine shook off the fire and tried to kick her. She managed to dodge by rolling to the side again, but the Balverine almost certainly had more endurance and stamina than she herself did. She couldn't just run forever and win this fight...she would have to kill it, and kill it _quickly_.

_Come on...come on..._

As the Balverine continued to chase her, Sparrow charged Will energy in her hands, going for blades this time. As the Balverine leaped over her head to cut her off, the Hero brought her clenched fists into the ground...a veritable swarm of gold blades hitting the beast from every direction. The Balverine growled and swiped at the blades, while Sparrow fired her flintlock as fast as she possibly could. The combination attack finally brought the beast down, ending the round.

* * *

**Room Eight**

* * *

The final room was a rocky hillock, with only dim torchlight illuminating the dark ground and stones. Sparrow felt a chill run down her back..._something_ was wrong. She couldn't place her finger on it, but it felt _wrong_ in here, very...very...wrong. She didn't know what could be the final round...Hobbes, Hollow Men, Bandits, Balverines...what could possibly be left to fight? Guards?

Cautiously ascending the hillock, Sparrow felt the ground begin shaking. Fear coursed through her body at that...for only one thing could make the ground shake like that. Rolling back down the hill, the Hero watched as a Troll clawed its way to the surface. This wasn't a moss and grass covered monster however...it was all rock, boulders covering its hide as its beady eyes stared down on the Hero.

_Damn...fire isn't going to work on this one..._

Pulling out her rifle, the young Hero was forced to roll again, as the troll roared and grabbed boulders from the ground, throwing them at her. Coming back to her knees, Sparrow fired off a rapid barrage of bullets, as fast as she could load her rifle. The troll roared in pain as two of its red nerves popped, and brought its fists down on the ground. The resulting shockwave knocked Sparrow back, sending her flying into a large boulder.

Shaking the stars from her face, the Hero got back to her feet, glaring at the troll as it _laughed_ at her. Snapping her hands up, fire flew from both palms. The troll rolled back slightly as the attack scorched it...before making a painful noise as one of its nerves popped. Sparrow rolled out of the way of the resulting shockwave, stumbling slightly as her abused body caught up with her.

_"Our fighter seems to be having trouble Mad-Dog!"_

_"That she does. I bet she's never had to fight a troll before!"_

"OH SHUT UP!" Sparrow finally snapped, her exhaustion getting the better of her, sending her temper into overdrive.

The announcers shouted right back at her, but the Hero had bigger things to focus on. Like the boulder that almost took her head off. Firing her rifle and her varied Will abilities, the Hero cursed when not one attack seemed to hurt the troll. The creature had hidden its vulnerable nerves, and wasn't giving the young Hero a chance to hit them again. To make matters worse, a group of Hobbes came into play...possibly because she ticked off the announcers.

Reaching behind her back, Sparrow drew Griever and held it in one hand, her rifle in the other. Dodging attacks from the troll, she jumped at the Hobbes, who screamed in response. The little buggers slashed and stabbed at the Hero, who parried with Griever, while firing her rifle one-handed. A slash from her flaming sword sent a Hobbe flying into the troll, while a shot from her rifle blew a hole through another of the little monster's head. Ducking under an overhand blow, she kicked a Hobbe clean into the audience, where Rose stabbed it before it could hurt anyone.

Realizing how close to the troll she was, Sparrow jumped back, replacing Griever and flinging a brace of blades at the beast. She was surprised when the troll roared in agony...and began sinking into the ground. Her last attack had hit the last two nerves on the monster. As the troll vanished from sight...Sparrow collapsed to the ground, her lungs taking in air as fast as they could, while she struggled to get her breathing under control.

Silence gripped the room while Sparrow lay on the ground...before loud cheers began to echo through the arena.

_"Awesome...amazing...brilliant! That was the best Crucible we've had in _years!_"_

_"That it was Mad-Dog! Give it up for Sparrow everyone!"_

As the cheers echoed around her, the young Hero shakily got to her feet, her body protesting every movement as she walked to the exit...a miraculous sight...a working Cullis Gate. Pushing her depleted power into the device, Sparrow left the Crucible behind...

* * *

**AN: This was a fun chapter to write. I considered splitting the Crucible in half to allow for longer segments per room...but this worked for me. Let me know what you think! :D**


	11. The Tattered Spire: Part I

**AN: And here's the next chapter! :D**

* * *

As the light cleared from her eyes, Sparrow found herself standing at the exit to the Crucible...and enveloped in her sister's warm arms. Rose had run up the moment she saw the light from the Cullis Gate glowing, and pulled Sparrow into a tight hug. She didn't hold on for long though...knowing her little sister had to be in pain from the Crucible. So Rose merely pulled Sparrow's arm over her shoulder, and walked with her sister down the stairs. Sparrow sent her a thankful smile, considering she was _beat_. The Crucible was physically and mentally exhausting, to put things mildly.

As the sisters walked down the stairs slowly, they saw a crowd greeting them, with Hammer as distinctive as ever as she clapped with the others. Mad-Dog and Allen stood before the crowd, both giving wide grins at the Hero Sisters. Though it seemed they were still rather annoyed with Rose...

"Congratulations! That really was the best Crucible we've had in years!" Mad-Dog said.

"Indeed. You're welcome back anytime!" Allen added.

Sparrow nodded, as she continued down the stairs with Rose's aid. The sisters soon found themselves standing in front of Hammer, who was grinning widely. At least someone had been entertained...Sparrow never wanted to do that thing again, and Rose would probably lock her up if she tried. Still though, at least Hammer had waited for them instead of moving further into the 'town'. That was nice.

"Great job in there!" the larger Hero said, as the little group walked to the tavern, "I managed to get in there with Rose. Nice job with the Hobbes!"

Sparrow smiled slightly, "Thanks. I'm just glad I'm out of there myself."

"So am I," Rose added, helping her sister into a seat.

Hammer sat down next to Sparrow, while Rose went to get some drinks. The youngest Hero let her head fall to the table, leaning on her arm and breathing slowly. She needed the rest really. The young woman was soon asleep, her body making it quite clear she needed the rest. Rose smiled at the sight when she got back, though the smile was distinctly sad. Her sister had been through so much in such a short time...setting the drinks down, the eldest Hero sat next to her sister, running a hand through her hair.

Hammer smiled at the sight, "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. She's lucky to have you y'know?"

Rose didn't say anything at first, as she sipped her own drink while keeping an eye on her sister. What Hammer had said applied to her just as much as it did to Sparrow. She was _so_ lucky to have such a loving sister. The two of them were so close, that it felt odd even thinking about being apart...despite the decade they had spent apart before. Turning her head back to Hammer, Rose nodded once.

"I'm lucky to have _her."_

"I can tell. I'm close to my father, but you two...inseparable to be honest."

Rose laughed softly, "Tell me about it. At least...until she has to go to the Spire..."

The mood soured quite quickly with that statement, as Rose continued to run her hand through her sister's hair. Fact was, only one of them could go to the Spire. Hammer would be recognized, which would just end up risking her. Rose couldn't go, since she would have to go through the Crucible (something she wasn't certain she could do)...and on top of that, one of the sisters had to stay behind in the event that the other failed. _That_ thought, more than anything else, terrified Rose. For she couldn't help Sparrow here...no matter how much she wished she could, she just couldn't.

Sparrow stirred, lifting her head up enough for one brown eye to look up at her sister, "You talking about me again?"

Rose and Hammer started laughing, as the younger woman rubbed her eyes tiredly. Leave it to her to break the tension as always.

"Seriously though, don't worry Rose," the younger sister added, downing her drink in one gulp, "I'll be fine. We should probably get down to the dock now actually...better to get this done soon, so Lucien can't get anything out of Garth."

Rose sighed, but nodded anyway. She didn't like the idea of leaving so soon, but she didn't dispute the point either. After making sure Sparrow had recovered enough to walk on her own, the little group set out for the dock. The large gate opened, revealing a view of the Spire in the distance...the structure looking even more imposing, as they were far closer than in Bowerstone or Oakfield. Sitting at the dock was a fairly large ship, the vessel moored with two of Lucien's soldiers standing in front of it.

The sight sent a chill down Rose's back...knowing her sister was going to be stuck with who knew how many of these men. Sparrow noticed that, and gripped Rose's shoulder reassuringly, as Hammer walked in front of the sisters. The Hero of Strength looked out at the Spire, the foreboding structure looking quite imposing with the dark sky as a backdrop. Almost as if one could _sense_ the evil purpose behind it.

"Well, here we are. Ready to start the most dangerous quest of your career then?" the Hero asked, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't work well, as Rose narrowed her eyes slightly. She did _not_ need to be reminded of the danger her sister was leaping headfirst into. For her credit, Hammer realized that and looked sheepishly at the elder Hero sister.

"In any case, I'm sure you'll do great out there."

Sparrow nodded, "Thanks Hammer."

The larger woman nodded, as the group reached the boat. The two soldiers were arguing about something on the pier, while the ship's captain stood at the front of the pier, arms crossed and an impatient look on his face. The man glared at the Heroes, as they walked up to him. He held up one hand, and looked directly at Sparrow, seemingly ignoring Rose and Hammer in favor of the most recent Crucible champion.

"Right, no personal effects, allowed on board, no weapons…and no dogs either," the man said, giving a distasteful glance at a growling Petal.

Sparrow nodded, and turned back to her sister and best friend. Hammer stepped forward first, taking the rifle from Sparrow's hands.

Gingerly holding the rifle, the Hero of Strength gave a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I'll look after 'im and your stuff too. Good luck."

Taking Griever off her back, Sparrow carefully handed the blade, scabbard and all, to her sister. Rose just as carefully took the blade...knowing how much it meant to her sister. Handing it to Hammer, the elder sister pulled her younger sibling into a tight hug, letting a couple tears fall as Sparrow gripped her back just as tightly. The tender moment only lasted a few seconds, before they were forced apart, as the Captain made an impatient noise.

Stepping apart, Sparrow wiped tears from her eyes, and gave her sister a sad smile, "Well, this is goodbye for now Rose. Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I'm holding you to that," Rose replied with a weak smile of her own.

Sparrow nodded, and turned around...walking down the pier and into the boat. As the ship vanished into the distance, Petal let out a mournful howl, while Rose stood like a statue. She continued to watch the Spire for a few minutes, before turning weakly and leaving the dock behind, warping back to the Guild with Hammer.

* * *

**The Tattered Spire**

* * *

Sparrow stood on the deck of the boat, watching as the Spire grew larger and larger above her. Even incomplete, the tower was absolutely _massive_. The ship, a large vessel in any other circumstances, was like an ant. The black material that made the Spire seemed to absorb all light, as the ship drew closer. The only light was an unnatural white glow from the center of the Spire, a central structure providing the illumination as it rose into the air. The boat entered into the Spire itself, floating along a canal, water flowing off the sides.

Continuing to look up at the central tower, Sparrow almost didn't notice when the ship stopped. This structure...even from the boat...just felt _wrong_. She had thought the troll had felt unnatural. This was a totally different story. Bowerstone had a lively feel to it. Oakfield felt natural and peaceful. Westcliff felt dark, but still had a natural tone. She could feel the history at the Heroes Guild, the building almost echoing with the souls of Heroes past, the magic suffusing the stone.

The Spire though...it felt darker than Westcliff, more unnatural than Bowerstone, and almost...tortured. She could almost feel the pain of those who had built the structure, echoing through the walls. Shaking her head to clear the feeling, Sparrow walked down the ramp off the ship, joining a group of other recruits.

"Just look at this place. We got lucky getting picked up by Lord Lucien. Whatever he's planning, me and Lil are going to be set for life," a man said next to the Hero, as they walked down the center of the Spire.

Sparrow turned her head to look at the man, and wondered if he had actually won the Crucible. He didn't _look_ like a fighter by any means, nor did he talk like one. Then again, she thought with a snort, neither did she. That thought slowed her down ever so slightly, and because of that Sparrow felt the flat of a sword slam into her back. Stumbling slightly, she turned to glare at whoever pushed her...before turning her head back around and speeding up slightly.

"Yeah, that's right...keep movin!" a Soldier growled.

The man next to Sparrow seemed to ignore the guard, as he continued to babble on about something or other.

"I've been with my Lil for 13 years, been faithful the whole time. If you could see her you'd understand why. Name's Bob by the way."

"Sparrow," the Hero replied, shaking the offered hand, "how'd you get in here?"

Bob sighed wistfully, "Managed to get through the Crucible. Never knew I had it in me honestly, but I obviously did if I survived! To think, I'm going to be working for Lord Lucien Fairfax! Not sure why he vanished or what he's doing with this thing, but Lil is going to be _so_ happy when I come back. I'm sure I'll be paid loads of gold!"

Sparrow didn't have the heart to tell the man he probably wasn't getting paid...or returning home at all in all likelihood. He seemed nice enough, if a bit naïve. Kind of like her really...before she was forced to grow up. Not to mention the fact that she was rather preoccupied, trying to ignore the feeling spreading through her body from the floor beneath her. The feeling she had felt on the boat was getting ever stronger, the further towards the center she came. It wasn't just a feeling in her bones anymore...there was a noise, just out of reach...that almost felt like it was taunting her with some unsolvable mystery.

It wasn't just a noise either. And she wasn't the only one who noticed it, as Bob started shaking as he walked along next to the Hero.

"What is that noise? I don't just hear it…I can _feel_ it. This place feels…wrong…" the man said, shuddering slightly.

Sparrow couldn't argue the point, "I don't know...but I can feel it too..."

As the two talked, the group in front of them came to a halt. For coming down a staircase from the brilliant white light, was a single man. Sparrow's hand instinctively went to her back, grasping for a rifle that wasn't there. Her other hand clenched, fire flaring before she stamped down on it to avoid getting noticed. The man was more worn, hair stark white where it used to be pitch black, his face sunken...eyes dark as they looked over the group of recruits.

Lord Lucien Fairfax had seen better days. The man who had looked so pained at shooting her and Rose was gone. The man standing before her had expunged any lingering humanity...he was dedicated to one thing, and one thing only...finishing the Spire for whatever his wish would be_. _Sparrow found it impossible to pity this man any more...only the knowledge she could never rescue Garth if she gave in keeping her from blasting him with her fire or blades.

Lucien cast one last look over his audience, before he began speaking...even his voice having an undertone of harshness that hadn't previously been there.

"The world outside these marvelous walls is a corrupt, rotting husk. Reason is absent. Instead of order, there is only chaos. Chaos does not punish evil, nor reward righteousness. Chaos cuts innocent lives short…and we're to accept this as fate?"

_Like you have any room to talk_ murderer_..._

Continuing to look out at his recruits, Lucien's eyes went right over Sparrow, holding no recognition. He probably still thought she was dead...an advantage maybe, but only so long as he _didn't_ realize who she was. Waving a hand in a dramatic gesture, the man continued his speech.

"I beg to differ. You stand in the center of a great instrument of change. With it, I shall remake the world. And my creation shall be unrecognizable in its perfection," Lucien continued, gaining a couple of isolated cheers from the more idealistic of the recruits.

Sparrow merely frowned. This sounded almost like what Aunt Theresa had said about the Archon's wish...destroy the old, to replace it with a purer, less corrupt world. Emphasis on the _destroy_. Lucien...did he realize, _truly realize_, what he could end up doing? Would this man be willing to obliterate Alibon's civilization, in a mad quest to replace the world he felt had taken his family? If so, he truly _had_ gone mad...at least if he was building the Spire to restore his loved ones, Sparrow could understand him.

_What is Lucien thinking..._

Bringing her attention back to the crazed man, she listened to the next thing he had to say, "But my will alone is not sufficient for such a monumental task. It is through your toil, through your labors, through your conviction…that Albion will be transformed."

Lucien looked out at his recruits, a faint and distinctly scary, smile on his face. It was almost as uncomfortable as the Spire itself...a smile with no mirth, no sadness...no _emotion_. This man was broken, and put together into a caricature of his former self. He didn't seem to realize what his smile did, but Lucien did notice Bob in the back, still shaking slightly from the feeling of the Spire around him. Letting what he probably thought was a kind smile cross his face, the 'Lord' looked around at the Spire.

"Do not fear the sound you hear, the throbbing beneath your feet. These sensations will soon be as familiar as your own heartbeat. And as long as your heart continues to beat, all that I require is obedience."

Sparrow's 'bad feeling' sense kicked into overdrive as the man said that. The rest of the crowd looked confused, but none of them seemed to realize the undertone in those words. Something was about to happen, and it was _not_ good. Gripping the Guild Seal in her hand, Sparrow mentally called for her ancient mentor/Aunt. Theresa would surely have advice...she always did after all.

_Theresa? Theresa? Are you there? AUNT THERESA!_

Silence greeted the Hero, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach as she suddenly realized she couldn't hear her ancestors reassuring, if cold, voice. Nor could she feel the pulsing of the Seal in her hand...it felt dead, and only now did she realize it had felt that way since she crossed into the Spire.

At the top of the platform, Lucien smiled grimly, "Now..._sleep_."

Sparrow felt her mind cloud over...as she fell to the ground...darkness claiming her mind...

* * *

**AN: Remember to leave a review if you liked it ;)  
**


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